Jobs Growth Is Slightly Soft

Updated from 10:36 a.m. EST

Another month, another mediocre jobs report.

The U.S. economy added 157,000 jobs in December, below the 175,000 consensus estimate and barely enough to keep up with the natural growth in the labor force. More troubling perhaps, average hourly earnings rose a meager 0.1%, below economists' 0.2% target.

After the minutes of the Federal Reserve's policy meeting were released earlier this week, some investors worried that the central bank might abandon its "measured" approach and raise interest rates more aggressively. ...