Key Points:
- Total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 199,000 in December as the unemployment rate fell 0.3% to 3.9%.
- Consensus among economists was a gain of 400,000 jobs.
- Nonfarm employment is down by 3.6 Million from pre-pandemic levels in February 2020.
- Employment in leisure and hospitality added 53,000 jobs, professional and business services increased by 43,000, and construction increased by 22,000 in December.
- Manufacturing employment rose by 26,000, but is still down 219,000 from its level in February 2020.
- In December, average hourly earnings for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls increased by 19 cents to $31.31.
- The average workweek for all private employees was unchanged at 34.7 hours in December.
- The labor force participation rate was unchanged at 61.9% in December and is 1.5% lower than February 2020.