MIXED BAG

December Jobs Report Shows Dismal New Hiring, but Unemployment Rate Is Down to 3.9%

Overall, the economy added a record number of jobs in all of 2021.

December’s jobs report, released Friday by the Labor Department, shows a mixed bag of results: The unemployment rate fell to 3.9 percent, but non-farm employers added a dismal 190,000 new hires. Overall, however, the economy added a record number of jobs in 2021 as the U.S. slowly recovered from the horror of 2020. The total unemployment level is still 2.9 million below what it was in February 2020, just before businesses started shutting down as COVID swept the globe. Friday’s report doesn’t reflect the impact of the January’s Omicron surge, but The Wall Street Journal reports that the fresh outbreak has so far had minimal effect on employment. Jobless claims were at 207,000 last week, almost the lowest level in 50 years.