A couple of months ago, a federal rate hike seemed like a very distant possibility. With the latest developments in the U.S. financial world, however, a rate hike seems to be the most likely outcome before the end of the year, according to Yahoo! Finance.

After the release of the country's employment report for November, the Federal Reserve finally got the green light it needed to raise interest rates. The employment report, which was released Friday, exhibited encouraging figures, with 211,000 job gains.

Fed policymakers, however, would probably feel a lot more comfortable with the country's financial state if the two pillars of the U.S.'s economic growth, American workers and consumers, continue to make headway,reports USA Today.

Meanwhile, other aspects of the market have made headway as well. The labor market, for one, has shown a significant advance despite headwinds that have lingered since the recession. The number of people who have quit their jobs has also leveled off at 2.7 million this year, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Retail sales have increased this year as well, spurred by steadily improving job growth and the decline of gasoline prices and household debt. With the holidays just around the corner, economists also perceive that American spending will pick up pace as the year ends.

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