Forecasters believe the U.S. job market expanded at a slow pace in December, continuing the trend of disappointing hiring data seen in recent months. A Wall Street Journal survey of economists indicates that Friday’s U.S. nonfarm payrolls report is expected to show 73,000 new jobs were added in December, with the unemployment rate edging down slightly to 4.5% from 4.6% the previous month. Sal Guatieri, senior U.S. economist at BMO Capital Markets, said that after two months of distorted data caused by the government shutdown, the December jobs report should provide a relatively accurate picture of the current situation. Unfortunately, however, the report will likely confirm the recent trend of weak hiring.