Jeffrey Roach, an analyst at LPL Financial, said the US private sector added an average of 149,000 jobs a month in 2024, down from 192,000 in 2023 and expected to fall again in 2025. Non-farm payrolls surged 256,000 in December and the unemployment rate fell modestly (against the backdrop of possible mass deportations of illegal immigrants), raising concerns that the Fed may even need to raise interest rates. But there may be more optimism behind the data. "More than 16 per cent of the non-workforce is foreign-born, including undocumented immigrants, so tightening immigration policy may not be as damaging to the economy as some have suggested," Roach said. "In the meantime, the Fed will keep interest rates on hold."