US payrolls pick up, wages gain as labor market stays solid

U.S. job growth picked up in December and wage gains exceeded expectations, diminishing prospects for an imminent Federal Reserve interest-rate cut.

Nonfarm payrolls increased 216,000 after downward revisions to the prior two months, a Bureau of Labor Statistics report showed Friday. The unemployment rate held at 3.7% as the workforce shrank. Average hourly earnings rose 0.4% from a month earlier.

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