Payrolls Beat

Nonfarm payrolls increased by 256,000 in December (consensus 227,000) following a revised increase of 212,000 in November (from 227,000). Nonfarm private payrolls increased by 223,000 in December (consensus 140,000) following a revised increase of 182,000 in November (from 194,000). The unemployment rate declined to 4.1% in December (consensus 4.2%) from 4.2% in November. Average hourly…