U.S. Economy Adds 199,000 Jobs In December, Unemployment Falls To 3.9%

UPDATE, 8:52 AM PT: Despite lower-than-expected job growth in December, President Joe Biden touted his economic agenda as a success.

“Today’s national unemployment rate fell below 4%, to 3.9%, the sharpest one year drop in the unemployment rate in United States history,” said Biden, speaking from the White House. He also cited 6.4 million jobs added in total in 2021, “the most jobs, in any calendar year, by any president in history.” (Biden took office on Jan. 20, so part of the growth was during the previous administration).

Biden said that “there’s been a lot of press coverage of people quitting their jobs. Well, today’s report shows you why. Americans are moving up to better jobs, with better pay, and better benefits.”

Biden also addressed some of the fears over supply chain disruptions as well as inflation. “The Grinch did not steal Christmas — nor any votes,” he said.

PREVIOUSLY: U.S. economy continued to be slowed by Covid disruptions in December, with 199,000 job added, far below expectations.

Still, the unemployment rate fell to 3.9%, bringing it closer to the rate it was when the pandemic started.

The latest numbers from the Bureau of Labor Statistics were from data collected before the most recent uptick in Covid cases due to the Omicron wave, meaning that numbers may sputter further in January.

The hiring figures were even lower than those in November, when 249,000 jobs were added.

The Labor Department reported December job gains in leisure and hospitality, professional and business services, manufacturing, construction and transportation and warehousing. Employment in motion pictures and sound recordings was off by 6.2% from November, to 340,700 in December, according to data adjusted for seasonal factors.

The labor force participation rate was unchanged at 61.9%, but that is still 1.5 percentage points lower than before the start of the pandemic.

Average hourly earnings on private business payrolls rose 19 cents to $31.31. Over the past year, average hourly earnings rose by 4.7%.

As is often the case, the bureau revised figures from previous months, and it is better news for the employment picture. Hiring figures for October and November were revised upward by 141,000.

More to come.