The U.S. economy ended last year with the labor scars from the COVID-19 pandemic effectively healed and a quandary for Federal Reserve policymakers so far waiting in vain for wage and job growth to cool to a sustainable level.

The addition of 216,000 jobs to U.S. payrolls in December and wage growth of 4.1% both beat expectations, leaving the central bank still looking for clear signs of a slowing labor market and prompting traders in contracts tied to the benchmark federal funds rate to trim expectations the Fed will start cutting rates at its March meeting. READ MORE