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The U.S. economy closed out 2024 with another month of massive job gains, adding 256,000 positions in December.

The unemployment rate fell to 4.1 percent from 4.2 percent, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data released Friday, completing a year that surpassed pre-pandemic norms. Marked return.

While the final jobs report for 2024 indicates how the U.S. labor market has turned the corner since the pandemic, there is considerable uncertainty about what 2025 will bring for labor market momentum. It could — in part because of President-elect Donald Trump’s potential policy. Changes include trade, immigration, taxes and the federal workforce.

Including December’s gains, which are subject to revision, the economy added about 2.2 million jobs in 2024, an average of 186,000 jobs a month. That’s in line with annual totals from 2017 to 2019 but marks a slowdown from the blowout gains seen during the recovery from pandemics in previous years.

The U.S. has now added jobs for 48 consecutive months, the second longest period of job expansion on record.

According to FactSet, economists had expected a net gain of 153,000 jobs and the unemployment rate to remain at 4.2 percent.

U.S. stock futures fell sharply after the better-than-expected report, with Dow futures down nearly 400 points before settling slightly higher. The yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 4.7 percent as traders feared that stronger data and a stronger economy could lead the Federal Reserve to halt its rate-cutting campaign.

The December jobs report was expected to provide a more straightforward look at the health and momentum of the labor market after two skewed reports: October, which came very weak due to hurricanes and labor strikes; And November, which came in much stronger, because it included the return of those missing workers.

Still, December was likely to be muddy, economists said.

Robert Frick, corporate economist at Navy Federal Credit, said ongoing hurricane-related recovery, as well as seasonal maneuvers (the retail industry added 43,400 jobs last month after shedding 29,200 jobs in November) will likely lead to a higher-than-expected December. Cause strong benefits. Union

“A large portion of the headline number is from post-hurricane recovery, and employment remains tight,” Frick wrote in commentary Friday. “The usual suspects — health care and government — were once again the biggest gainers. Retail jobs rose, but that’s a seasonal trend. Still, a good report means the expansion will continue.” And consumer purchasing power is increasing.”

The labor market has recovered from a generation-at-a-time pandemic and navigated the twin pressures of rapidly rising prices and high interest rates. has demonstrated flexibility and stability since Unemployment rates have remained low, employment participation has increased (especially among women and older workers), productivity has risen and wage growth has outpaced inflation for 19 months.

A solid labor market has helped fuel consumer spending, which in turn has kept the overall economy strong as inflation has eased — perhaps the rare feat of a “soft landing” of price stability without a recession. is setting the stage.

Still, the job market is not insurmountable. Job growth is slowing, jobs are shrinking, and people are staying out of work longer, fueling concerns that further weakness could be in the offing.

The Fed, in order to ensure maximum employment in addition to cooling inflation, has cut interest rates sharply in recent months. However, the pace of cuts is expected to moderate in 2025, the Fed indicated, noting potential risks to inflation as well as underlying strength in the labor market.

Lindsey Rosner, head of multi-sector fixed income investing at Goldman Sachs Asset Management, said on Friday that a slowdown in January is unlikely, given the employment gains.

“The U.S. labor market ended 2024 on a strong footing with strong employment growth, declining unemployment and elastic wage pressures,” Rosner wrote in a statement. “The strength of today’s December jobs report puts one’s long prospects to rest. [quarter-point] cuts in January and focuses on the March meeting, where further rate cuts will depend on developments on inflation.

Wages rose 3.9 percent on an annual basis in December, according to Friday’s report. Salaries have moderated in recent years but are still above pre-pandemic levels, when they rose by about 3%.

This story is in development and will be updated.