TheStreet’s J.D. Durkin brings you the biggest news of the day, including what we learned from the December jobs report and a record-setting holiday shopping season.
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00:00 I'm JD Durkin reporting from the New York Stock Exchange and here's a look at what we
00:03 are watching on the street today.
00:05 Investors are digesting the hotter than anticipated December jobs report.
00:10 216,000 jobs were added last month, rounding out a solid year of job gains despite persistently
00:16 high interest rates.
00:18 The job growth came in higher than analysts' expectations of 170,000 and marked an increase
00:23 from November's 199,000 jobs.
00:27 The unemployment rate held steady at 3.7 percent.
00:31 In other news, despite consumers having to deal with ongoing inflation, rising prices
00:35 and an overall pretty shaky economy, they had no problem opening up their wallets for
00:40 the holidays.
00:41 According to Adobe Analytics, Americans spent a record $222 billion online during the 2023
00:49 holiday season, which ran from November 1st through the end of December.
00:53 $12.4 billion were spent on Cyber Monday, while shoppers spent nearly $10 billion on
00:59 Black Friday alone.
01:01 Promotions and deals, of course, were a big reason why consumers felt they were able to
01:04 spend big for the holidays.
01:06 Online shopping discounts hit record highs, with electronics seeing as much as a 31 percent
01:11 discount.
01:12 Toy deals peaked at 28 percent off, while apparels' high was 24 percent.
01:17 All three major categories had larger discounts than they did the year before.
01:21 Buy now, pay later options, of course, also allowed Americans to spend a bit more.
01:25 Short-term financing payments increased by 14 percent from the last holiday shopping
01:30 season, bringing in a record $16.6 billion.
01:39 "