La contratación en Estados Unidos aumentó inesperadamente en diciembre, ya que los empleadores agregaron 256.000 empleos, otra señal de la resiliencia de la economía frente a las altas tasas de interés.
El crecimiento del empleo aumentó 212.000 el mes pasado con respecto a noviembre, informó el viernes el Departamento de Trabajo.
Durante todo 2024, la economía agregó 2,2 millones de empleos, una cifra sólida pero inferior a los 3 millones de 2023, los 4,5 millones de 2022 y el récord de 6,4 millones en 2021, mientras la economía se recuperaba de los despidos masivos de la pandemia.
Las cifras mensuales superaron las expectativas de los pronosticadores de alrededor de 155.000 nuevos empleos y un desempleo de 4,2%. Las empresas de atención médica agregaron 46.000 empleos, los minoristas 43.000, y las agencias gubernamentales federales, estatales y locales 33.000. Pero los fabricantes recortaron 13.000 empleos.
Las revisiones del Departamento de Trabajo eliminaron 8.000 empleos de las nóminas de octubre y noviembre.
Los salarios por hora promedio aumentaron 0,3% desde noviembre y 3,9% respecto al año anterior. El aumento salarial anual fue ligeramente menor de lo que los economistas habían pronosticado.
Las acciones cayeron la mañana del viernes ante las expectativas de que el sólido informe sobre el empleo redujera la probabilidad de que la Reserva Federal disminuya las tasas de interés. La economía parece no necesitar ayuda. “Parece bastante seguro que el ritmo de los recortes de tasas de la Fed va a disminuir”, dijo Brian Coulton, economista en jefe de Fitch Ratings.
No ha sido fácil obtener una visión clara del mercado laboral de Estados Unidos en los últimos meses.
Los huracanes y una importante huelga en Boeing alteraron las cifras de empleo de octubre, impulsándolas a la baja y preparando el terreno para un rebote compensatorio en noviembre, que probablemente exageró la fortaleza de la contratación.
Thomas Simons, economista en jefe de Estados Unidos en Jefferies, dijo que los ajustes estacionales que rodean la temporada de fiestas podrían haber afectado las cifras de diciembre, pero agregó que, no obstante, “es difícil decir algo negativo sobre los detalles de este informe”.
En los últimos años, la economía y el mercado laboral han mostrado una sorprendente resiliencia. En respuesta a la inflación que alcanzó un máximo de cuatro décadas hace dos años y medio, la Fed elevó su tasa de interés de referencia, la tasa de fondos federales, 11 veces entre 2022 y 2023, llevándola a su nivel más alto en más de dos décadas.
Muchas personas esperaban que los mayores costos de endeudamiento causaran una recesión, pero no fue así. Las empresas siguieron contratando, los consumidores siguieron gastando y la economía siguió avanzando. De hecho, el producto interno bruto de Estados Unidos, que es la producción nacional de bienes y servicios, se ha expandido a un robusto ritmo anual de 3% o más en cuatro de los últimos cinco trimestres.
Los trabajadores estadounidenses disfrutan de una inusual seguridad laboral. Los despidos están por debajo de la tendencia previa a la pandemia. El jueves, el Departamento de Trabajo informó que solo 211.000 personas solicitaron prestaciones del seguro por desempleo la semana pasada, la cifra más baja en casi un año.
La inflación también ha disminuido, desde un pico de 9,1% en junio de 2022 hasta 2,7% en noviembre. La caída en los aumentos interanuales de precios le dio a la Fed la suficiente confianza para reducir las tasas tres veces en los últimos cuatro meses de 2024.
Pero los funcionarios de la Fed señalaron en su reunión de diciembre que planeaban ser más cautelosos con los recortes de tasas este año. Ahora proyectan solo dos reducciones de tasas en 2025, frente a las cuatro que preveían en septiembre. El progreso contra la inflación se ha estancado en los últimos meses y sigue estando por encima del objetivo de la Fed de 2%.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) threw cold water on the idea that he could appoint himself to fill Sen. Marco Rubio’s (R-Fla.) seat, which he is vacating to become President-elect Trump’s secretary of state.
“Absolutely not,” DeSantis told reporters on Friday when asked about the scenario.
“It’s funny, you know, these people write these things,” the governor said. “And anytime they’re talking about anything I’m doing, they’re just making it up, right?”
“I mean, they’ll talk to someone because [they’ll] say, ‘Oh, someone familiar with the governor’s thinking.’ Understand, that means they don’t know what the hell they’re talking about. That means somebody is saying, ‘Well, I know how the Governor thinks. He’s probably saying this.’ So they try to do grist for the mill,” he said.
DeSantis has the power to replace Rubio, assuming the senator is confirmed to the country’s top diplomatic post, as is widely expected. On Tuesday, the governor said he has not decided who that might be.
“I think we’ve got a number of great candidates, but I want to make sure that we know what we’re going to get,” DeSantis said.
A number of names have been floated to fill the seat, including state Attorney General Ashley Moody, Lt. Gov. Jeanette Nunez, and DeSantis’s chief of staff, James Uthmeier.
The president-elect’s daughter Lara Trump had expressed interest in the role, but took her name out of consideration last month.
Whoever replaces Rubio will serve out the remainder of the senator’s team until 2026, when an election for the seat is held.
There’s still a chance that Andrean seniors Kate Sippel and Nora Sippel attend the same college.
The twin sisters both intend to study nursing.
But Kate Sippel, a 5-foot-5 guard, has been eyeing Marquette, and Nora Sippel, a 5-4 guard, has focused on St. Louis. Even if they do go to the same school, they’ve agreed not to share a room. They did that at home until two years ago.
No matter where they go, they’re supporting each other throughout the journey.
“We fight, but it’s nice having my best friend always here with me,” Kate Sippel said. “On car rides home, we’re always talking or singing. We’re very close.”
Nora Sippel joked that they hash out any differences “behind closed doors.”
“As long as I have coached them, I have never seen them fight,” Andrean coach Tony Scheub said. “I have always seen them get along. Or if they were mad at each other, it didn’t last long.”
“Our scout team is very important to what we do, it was big for us last year, and they were big members of our scout team last year,” Scheub said. “Kate and Nora know all of our plays from front to back. But they pick up things really quickly, and they know the opposing team’s too — they probably knew the other team’s offense as well as they did.
“Kate was able to be a post player when we needed her. She was able to be the point guard because she knew all of the positions. They might not be Lindsay Arcella or Maddie Walton, but they’ve been a big part of our program.”
Scheub said Kate Sippel “has dug out a role” as the team’s first guard off the bench. She has hit some timely 3-pointers and earned additional minutes by defending well and taking care of the ball.
“I’ve been focusing a lot on my shooting and just trying to be a role player,” Kate Sippel said. “Just going out on the court and doing exactly what I’m supposed to do and paying attention and knowing the plays. Even if I’m on the bench, helping other players on the court. If they mess up, just always being there and supporting them.”
Nora Sippel has played sparingly. But she’s always engaged in the process.
“I’ve been trying to work on my defense more and not only make myself better, but help my teammates get better,” she said. “Just give them support and be positive.”
That type of attitude influences the rest of the team.
“They do a good job of talking all of our kids through stuff,” Scheub said. “In practice, as seniors, they’re not captains of the team, but their effort on the floor in practice is infectious. If you see them working hard, it makes other kids work hard. That is something that is never in doubt when these two are on the floor.”
Andrean’s Kate Sippel passes the ball during the Class 1A Westview Regional championship game against Argos on Saturday, Oct. 15, 2022. (Michael Gard / Post-Tribune)
Indeed, the Sippels are diligent in maximizing their ability. That’s certainly the case in soccer, a sport in which they were part of Andrean’s Class 1A state runner-up team
as freshmen in 2021. Kate Sippel got time in the championship game.
The Sippels then started alongside each other on defense for three seasons, with Kate in the middle and Nora on the outside. Andrean won sectional and regional titles when they were sophomores in 2022, and the Sippels were captains as seniors.
Both were named all-conference this past season. They were also selected for the academic all-state team, and they should follow suit in basketball.
“They’re awesome kids,” Scheub said. “They come from a tremendous family. Watching film, you always see their parents. Their parents are fans for all of the kids. It’s fun as a coach to see that.”
Kate and Nora Sippel are also distance runners in track and field, and they’re members of the National Honor Society, student government and Young Adults Really Care, a program in which students host holiday parties for people with special needs at Halloween, Christmas and Easter.
Kate Sippel is also an accomplished baker with a small business, and Nora Sippel quipped that she’s the “taste tester.”
Kate Sippel provided the desserts for Andrean’s team banquet after last season.
“It was pretty unbelievable,” Scheub said. “I’m not lying. It looked like it was bought at a store and brought here and put out. It was pretty unbelievable. There were a number of desserts, and it was all pretty impressive.”
Andrean’s Nora Sippel moves the ball during the Class 1A Chesterton Semistate against Fort Wayne Canterbury on Saturday, Oct. 22, 2022. (Michael Gard / Post-Tribune)
Andrean also hopes to have much to celebrate at its banquet after this season. The first-place 59ers, unbeaten through four games in the Northwest Crossroads Conference, travel to Lowell on Saturday. They finished second behind Munster in the conference last season.
After just one player graduated and a promising freshman class joined the strong core, Kate and Nora Sippel agreed the 59ers have the means to flourish down the stretch. They know what it takes to succeed.
“This year definitely is different,” Kate Sippel said. “It means more. Not that past years haven’t meant a lot, but it means more now that it’s our last year. We’re putting in everything we have.”
Special guests, including Simone Biles and Oprah Winfrey, offered tributes to the longtime host, capping off a week that “Today” had called a “Hoda-bration!”
