Initial jobless claims dropped to 191,000—far below the 219,000 forecast—marking the lowest level since 2022, according to Kathy Jones, Chief Fixed Income Strategist at Schwab Center for Financial Research. Jones cautioned: "Good news, but the data can be a bit volatile around the holidays."
The unexpectedly strong labor market print comes just one day after December Fed rate cut odds surged to 88.8% following flat import price data, with the robust claims figure now raising questions about whether the Fed needs to ease as aggressively as markets anticipate.
Jones’ holiday volatility warning