US economy added 256K jobs in December, well above expectations

The U.S. economy added jobs more rapidly than expected in December as Federal Reserve policymakers are keeping close tabs on the strength of the labor market ahead of their meeting later this month.

The Labor Department on Friday reported that employers added 256,000 jobs in December, well above the estimate from LSEG economists.

The unemployment rate came in at 4.1%, slightly lower than economists' expectations.

The number of jobs added in the prior two months were both revised...