USA: unemployment rate down from 4.2% to 3.9% in December, better expected. Watch out for inflation with + 4.7% wages

In December, the US unemployment rate fell from the previous 4.2% to 3.9%. The number was better than expected by the consensus, which had predicted a decline to 4.1%.

Watch out for the parameter that measures the inflation trend, and which could give information on the future moves of the Fed by Jerome Powell: that of hourly wages.

On average, on an annual basis, wages jumped by 4.7%, over the + 4.2% estimated by the consensus. On a monthly basis, growth was + 0.6%, over the expected + 0.4%.

The labor force participation rate rose slightly to 61.9% compared to the previous 61.8%: however, the figure remains well below the 62.8% prior to the Covid-19 pandemic.