From 9 Jan 2026US added fewer jobs than forecast in DecemberNewsflash: The US economy added fewer jobs than expected last month.America’s non-farm payroll rose by 50,000 in December, missing forecasts of a 60,000 rise.Employment continued to trend up in food services and drinking places, health care, and social assistance, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports, while retail trade lost jobs.That shows a hiring slowdown, compared with the previous month; the BLS now estimates that 56,000 jobs were created in November, 8,000 fewer than its first estimate of 64,000.Key events9 Jan 2026Closing post9 Jan 2026Oil at one-month high as Iran protests spread9 Jan 2026Supreme Court will not rule on Trump tariffs today9 Jan 2026US consumer confidence rises9 Jan 2026Strategist: January rate cut very unlikely following drop in jobless rate9 Jan 2026Where were jobs created in December?9 Jan 2026Unemployment rate dips to 4.4%9 Jan 2026US job creation slowed in Trump's first year9 Jan 2026US lost 173,000 jobs in October9 Jan 2026US added fewer jobs than forecast in December9 Jan 2026Charity Commission investigating City & Guilds over concerns about asset sales9 Jan 2026Markets brace for US jobs report9 Jan 2026EU backs Mercosur trade deal despite farmer protests9 Jan 2026UK food inflation to continue to fall in 2026, says Sainsbury's boss9 Jan 2026World food prices fall again in Decemeber9 Jan 2026FTSE 100 rises as 'the mother of all mining deals' returns9 Jan 2026Sainsbury's shares fall after Christmas trading report9 Jan 2026Introduction: Rio and Glencore in talks over mega-mergerShow key events onlyPlease turn on JavaScript to use this featureClosing postTime to wrap up!Hiring held firm in the US last month, official data showed, amid uncertainty over the strength and direction of the world’s largest economy.Employers added 50,000 jobs to the US labor force last month, capping the weakest year of growth since the pandemic, according to data released from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics on Friday.A chart showing US employment changesThe closely watched reading was slightly shy of the approximately 73,000 jobs economists expected to be added in the US economy in December.Previous readings for October and November were also revised lower, with the BLS now estimating that the US added 76,000 fewer jobs during those two months. In October, during the longest US government shutdown in history, the US economy shed 173,000 jobs.The unemployment rate, which rose to a four-year high of 4.6% in November, fell back to 4.4% in December.Economists predicted that a cut to US interest rates this month was very unlikely, given the drop in the unemployment rate.In other news…Rio Tinto and Glencore have restarted talks over a merger that would create the world’s largest mining company.The talks come almost a year after previous discussions between the two mining companies collapsed. If a deal is agreed, it would create a global mining business with an enterprise value of more than $260bn (£193bn).Sainsbury’s has blamed “significant headwinds” from weak consumer confidence, heavy online competition and widespread discounting for a fall in sales at its Argos chain over the all-important Christmas quarter.The Charity Commission has opened a statutory inquiry into City & Guilds’ sale of its qualification awards business to a private company last year.The announcement has been made after the Guardian revealed last month how City & Guilds bosses were handed million-pound bonuses after the charity privatised its business arm.The London stock market has ended the week at a new closing high.The FTSE 100 share index has closed at 10,124 points, up 0.8%, slightly higher than its previous closing high set on Tuesday.Mining company Glencore (+9.6%) was the top riser, following the news that it could be taken over by Rio Tinto (-3%).Oil at one-month high as Iran protests spreadBack in the financial markets, oil has hit its highest level in a month.US crude is up almost 3% at $59.43 a barrel, the highest since 8 December.Brent crude, the international benchmark, is up 2.5% at $63.47 a barrel.Both measures also jumped yesterday, as protests spread in Iran.Charalampos Pissouros, senior market analyst at Trading Point, says: