The latest US employment report is out, and the summary can be described in one word: just right.

Let's look at some key figures. Non-farm payrolls increased by 50,000, which is not particularly impressive—the expectation was 60,000 to 70,000—and revisions for October and November totaled a downward adjustment of 76,000. Two consecutive months of low growth indicate that the labor market is clearly cooling, and companies are adopting a "wait-and-see" approach with low hiring and low layoffs.

However, the unemployment rate surprisingly dropped from 4.6% to 4.4%, which is a positive surprise in the report. Although job growth is slowing, the resilience of the labor market remains, giving the Federal Reserve confidence to maintain the current stance—"recession is not that imminent."

Wages are also relatively stable. Month-over-month increase of 0.3%, year-over-year 3.8%, showing signs of rebound but overall manageable, insufficient to reignite inflation concerns.

Why is this report described as "just right"? Essentially, it hits the balance point between two risks: demand not overheating, meaning continued decline in inflation is possible, and stable unemployment rate, indicating the economy won't rapidly stall. From the perspective of the crypto market, such data will directly influence the Federal Reserve's policy expectations and, consequently, impact liquidity conditions.

It’s worth noting that in all of 2025, the US added only about 584,000 jobs, much less than the 2 million in 2024. Keep this big picture in mind.