Dec 6 Reuters U.S. in November after being severely constrained by hurricanes and strikes, but probably does not signal a material shift in labor market conditions that continue to ease steadily and gives the Federal Reserve leeway to cut interest rates again this month.

Nonfarm payrolls increased by 227,000 jobs last month, above the 200,000 estimate of economists polled by Reuters, after rising an upwardly revised 36,000 in October, the Labor Department said on Friday.

MARKET REACTION

STOCKS SP 500 Eminis were up 9 points, or 0.15

BONDS The yield on benchmark U.S. 10year notes fell 4.5 basis points to 4.138, the twoyear note yield declined 6.5 basis points to 4.081 FOREX After an initial decline, the dollar index was up 0.11 to 105.84

COMMENTS

JACK MCINTYRE, PORTFOLIO MANAGER, BRANDYWINE GLOBAL, PHILADELPHIA via email

Employment reports are always important to both the markets and the Fed but in the hierarchy of economic data there has been a shift. Next weeks inflation report will be more impactful as inflation is back to being the critical variable. Novembers labor release was as expected, resulting in no significant repricing of Fed expectations in 2025. It allows them to ease this month, but next weeks CPI release could change that outcome.

We think the Fed shifts to a more patient tone think slow and steady as there is no pressure for them to increase the scale of monetary easing going into 2025. The Feds terminal rate is going to be equally as important…