US hiring may have rebounded last month before omicron surge

By CHRISTOPHER RUGABER
AP Economics Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) — Inflation is surging and new omicron infections are spiking, but America’s employers are thought to have kept right on hiring in December on the strength of solid consumer spending. One reason for the optimism about the jobs data the government will issue Friday is that it wasn’t likely affected much by the omicron wave. The hiring figures will reflect the state of the job market for the first half of December, before omicron viral cases spiked. Economists have estimated that employers added 400,000 jobs, according to a survey by data provider FactSet. That would mark an increase from 210,000 in November. The unemployment rate is expected to have fallen from 4.2% to 4.1%.