Total nonfarm payroll employment declined by 140,000 in December, and the unemployment rate was unchanged at 6.7 percent, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. The decline in payroll employment reflects the recent increase in coronavirus (COVID-19) cases and efforts to contain the pandemic. In December, job losses in leisure and hospitality and in private education were partially offset by gains in professional and business services, retail trade, and construction. This news release presents statistics from two monthly surveys. The household survey measures labor force status, including unemployment, by ... (full story)

The U.S. economy likely created the fewest jobs in seven months in December or even shed workers as the country buckled under an onslaught of COVID-19 infections, marking the start of what is expected to be a bleak winter. Despite the anticipated weakness in the Labor Department’s closely watched employment report on Friday, the economy is unlikely to fall back into recession, with additional pandemic relief approved by the government in late December providing a backstop. More fiscal stimulus is expected. Democrats this week won two Senate seats in runoff elections in Georgia, gaining control of the chamber and ... (full story)