[Chicago Fed Expects December Unemployment Rate to Hold Steady at 4.6%] Odaily Planet Daily News – The Chicago Federal Reserve expects that the employment report released on Friday will show the December unemployment rate holding steady at 4.6%. This final forecast is consistent with the preliminary forecast released by the Reserve Bank a week ago. The unemployment rate prediction is based on a model launched by the Chicago Fed last fall, which integrates public and commercial data sources. Meanwhile, The Wall Street Journal's consensus forecast predicts that last month's unemployment rate will drop to 4.5%. (Jin10)