By Howard Schneider and Ann Saphir NEW ORLEANS/SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – A jump in the workforce and easing wage growth suggests the U.S. job market is starting to move the way the Federal Reserve has hoped it will, to bring the supply and demand for workers into better balance and help in its battle against inflation. After a year in which many basic metrics of the jobs market stalled at levels the U.S. central bank feels are inconsistent with stable prices, employment data for December published on Friday brought a hint of relief. Nearly 165 million people were either in jobs or looking for …