(CNN Business) –– The United States economy added 199,000 jobs in December, the work Department. This is the fewest jobs added in any month in 2021.
The figure is also a disappointment: Economists forecast double the growth in jobs.
Also, earlier in the week, the ADP Employment Report accounted for more than 800,000 jobs in the private sector for December, raising hopes for a strong end of the year. That publication is considered a reference for the official employment report, although the two are not correlated.
The leisure and hospitality industry led the growth in jobs with a modest 53,000 added. But, the sector is still 1.2 million jobs below pre-pandemic times. Professional and business services, manufacturing, construction, and transportation and warehousing also added jobs last month.
However, the understated earnings send a clear message. Recovery is not yet complete.
At the end of the year, the country still had 3.6 million fewer jobs compared to before the pandemic, in February 2020.
Still, 2021 will go down in history as a record-breaking year for job growth. United States added 6.4 million jobs last year, the most since records began in 1939.
Additionally, the unemployment rate fell to 3.9%, marking a new pandemic-era low.
Without a doubt, 2020 was also a year of groundbreaking labor advancements. But considering the heavy losses at the beginning of the pandemic, the economy still posted a net loss of jobs that year.
News in development.
