U.S. employers hired more workers than expected in December while raising wages at a solid clip, casting some doubt on financial market expectations that the Federal Reserve would start cutting interest rates in March. There were, however, some cracks in the closely watched employment report from the Labor Department on Friday. The economy added 71,000 fewer jobs in October and November than previously reported. While the unemployment rate held at 3.7% last month, that was because 676,000 people left the labor force, almost erasing all the gains in participation since February. Household employment fell sharply and the workweek was on average slightly shorter than in November.
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