Labor Department figures tomorrow are projected to show payrolls climbed by 240,000 in December, which would the gain in employment for all of 2014 at 2.89 million, the most since 1999, according to the median estimate of economists surveyed by Bloomberg. The jobless rate is forecast to drop to 5.7 percent, making it the lowest since June 2008.
The wrinkle in the jobs picture could come from the energy industry, which faces consolidation and workforce cuts as oil prices decline. Halliburton Co., the world’s second-largest oil services company, said on Dec. 11 that it plans to dismiss 1,000 employees worldwide.
Oil Industry
“We believe these job eliminations are necessary in order to work through this market environment,” the Houston-based company said in an e-mail.
Today’s report showed Texas had the biggest drop in claims last week, indicating the job losses have yet to materialize.
Americans paid an average $2.18 a gallon for regular gasoline on Jan. 7, the lowest since May 2009, according to AAA, the country’s largest auto group.
The savings are promoting gains in spending on other goods and services that is helping underpin economic growth as economies in Europe, Japan and some emerging markets cool.
Carmakers and auto dealerships are among those benefiting. General Motors Co., Ford Motor Co. and other major automakers are poised for another year of gains in 2015 as oil prices drop. Light-vehicle sales may rise to 16.7 million or more this year, Toyota Motor Corp. this wek, from 16.5 million in 2014 that was the most since 2006.
“As we look into 2015, economic indicators remain robust and the fundamentals are poised for a continuation of the momentum we saw in the latter part of 2014,” Emily Kolinski Morris, Ford’s chief economist, told analysts and reporters on a Jan. 5 conference call.