U.S. December Employment Data likely to be driven by demand for new workers, mild weather conditions

United States labor market conditions tightened further on expectations of BLS' update on the employment situation in December. The non-farm job count is likely to post 230K in December on firm demand for new workers and unseasonably mild weather conditions during the reference period.

"If our projection is on the mark, approximately 2.54 million positions were created last year, down from the 2.93 million added in 2014 but above the 2.46-million rise recorded in 2013" - Societe Generale.

According to the government statisticians' survey of eligible households, the civilian unemployment rate and the U-6 underemployment measure are likely to drop to new lows of 4.9% and 9.7%, respectively.  The year-to-year growth rate of the nominal compensation measure is expected to edge up four ticks higher to 2.7%, after it posted a decline of 0.2% in December.