New year hopes for an accelerating recovery in the US in 2014 were punctured on Friday after December saw the slowest pace of growth in new jobs for three years. Jobs growth, at just 74,000, came in far below expectations of a 197,000 increase. The data highlight the ongoing vulnerability of the US labour market, although the most likely cause of the recent weakness was miserable winter weather . The news is unlikely to put the US Federal Reserve off a further slowing of its asset purchases this month, from a pace of $75bn to $65bn. But it all but rules out a faster taper for now. In one of the most perverse jobs reports for months, the unemployment rate plunged from 7 to 6.7 per cent, despite weak jobs growth, as more people dropped out of looking for work. “We suspect that the unexpectedly weak 74,000 increase in […]