On Friday, the Labor Department will release the December jobs report, which is the final jobs report for 2023, wrapping up a year of strong job creation and low unemployment. 

In November, the economy added just under 200,000 new jobs, and the unemployment rate stood at 3.7%. Meanwhile, job openings in November continued to trend down, just as they’ve been doing for more than a year — though they’re still well-above pre-pandemic levels. 

Economists expect Friday’s jobs report to show that payroll growth tapered off in December, continuing a trend we’ve been seeing as the overall economy slows, said Eric Freedman at U.S. Bank.

“In terms of consumer demand, momentum is still there, so businesses are not really looking to ratchet back hiring plans,” he said. “There’s going to be this moderation, but still adding to payrolls as we get deeper into this year.”

Another thing that’s been moderating is wages, which have been rising around 4% a year now, compared to near 6% when wage gains peaked in 2022.

Still, “workers are getting raises,” said Brendan Duke at the Center for American Progress, “larger than inflation and better than right before the pandemic.”

Duke’s crunched the numbers and said that, over the past year, the average American worker’s pay has gone up $900 after accounting for rising prices due to inflation.