Friday’s jobs report was “even more important” than normal as the market adjusts its assessment of the direction of the economy.

The US economy added more jobs than forecast in December while the unemployment rate unexpectedly fell. Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics released Friday showed 256,000 new jobs were created in December,

Payrolls: 256,000 jobs added in December vs. 153,000 expected, according to economists surveyed by FactSet. Unemployment rate: 4.1%, down from 4.2% in November. Revisions: October

The Labor Department reported Friday that 265,000 jobs were added to the U.S. economy in December, which was roughly 100,000 more than expected. The unemployment rate also fell to 4.1%. CBS News contributor Javier David explains why investors see the better-than-expected jobs report as a bad thing.

Employers added 256,000 jobs in December, blowing past economists' expectations and signaling that the job market remains resilient in the face of still-high borrowing rates and stickier-than-expected inflation.

U.S. job growth unexpectedly accelerated in December while the unemployment rate fell to 4.1% as the labor market ended the year on a solid footing, reinforcing views that the Federal Reserve would keep interest rates unchanged this month.

The economy created 256,000 jobs in December, much stronger than what was predicted by Wall Street experts and more than 40,000 from the previous month, the Labor Department in its report released on Friday.

The U.S. added 256,000 jobs in December, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday. The number may give the Federal Reserve less incentive to cut interest rates this year.

US hiring picked up unexpectedly in December as employers added 256,000 jobs, another sign of the economy’s resilience in the face of high interest rates. The Labor Department reported Friday that job growth was up last month from 212,

The Labor Department released its jobs report for December which showed the U.S. economy added 256,000 jobs last month, well above economists' expectations.