employers are growing more cautious, putting off hiring. employees are sticking around longer. one caveat we could see some distortion to the numbers. the auto and actor strikes both ended in november with many returning to work that same month. plus, the end of the year is when many seasonal workers get taken on. now, america s central bank, the federal reserve, will be watching closely. that s because slowerjob growth and wage gains will fuel expectations that the fed will leave rates on hold. rates have risen to above 5% from nearly zero since march of last year as it wrestles to bring down inflation. the jobs report is the last significant piece of economic data before the us central bank s rate setting meeting next week. now, we should note that despite expectations for a slowdown, america s labour market remains strong by historical standards. still, if economists frequently use the word resilience to talk about the economy in 2023, they may be looking for a new word