Just released U.S. unemployment data for the week of January 17 — claims totaled 200,000 compared to the expected 210,000. Below the forecast, which is interesting. The previous week was slightly revised upward, but overall unemployment figures look quite stable. Simultaneously, the GDP for the third quarter was revised — here’s a surprise. The final figure increased to 4.4% year-over-year, surpassing both forecasts and the previous estimate of 4.30%. The economy is growing faster than expected. Core PCE remained at 2.9%, as anticipated. It turns out that the labor market isn’t heating up quickly, but the economy overall shows solid growth. It will be interesting to see how this affects rate decisions. If unemployment isn’t rising and GDP remains strong, the pressure to cut rates might be less than previously thought.