Futures markets still hold out hope for a March rate cut, even as annual inflation increased to 3.4 percent in December, moving away from the Fed's 2 percent goal for the first time since September.
USA TODAY
U.S. hiring grew at a modest pace in January, kicking off a year that s expected to bring a pickup in the job market as more Americans are vaccinated and businesses reopen.
The economy added 49,000 jobs, falling short of the 70,000 forecast, as COVID-19 cases persisted but business restrictions eased. The gains, while small, improved from December, when the economy lost 227,000 jobs.
The unemployment rate fell to 6.3% from 6.7%, mostly because of a big drop in the number of Americans working or looking for jobs, the Labor Department said Friday.
The lackluster report comes as President Joe Biden and congressional Democrats look to move quickly on a $1.9 trillion stimulus aimed at easing the economic pain Americans are suffering as a result of the pandemic. Early Friday, the Senate approved a budget resolution that will pave the way for the chamber to take up Biden s American Rescue Plan without the threat of a GOP filibuster.