The U.S. economy added far fewer jobs than expected in December just as the nation was grappling with a massive surge in Covid cases, the Labor Department said Friday.
Nonfarm payrolls grew by 199,000, while the unemployment rate fell to 3.9%, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data. That compared to the Dow Jones estimate of 422,000 for the payrolls number and 4.1% for the unemployment rate.
Job creation was highest in leisure and hospitality, a key recovery sector, which added 53,000. Professional and business services contributed 43,000 while manufacturing added 43,000.
The numbers come at a crossroads for the U.S. economy as more than half a million Covid cases per day, many related to the omicron variant, threaten to stall an economic recovery that looks to accelerate in 2022.
While growth decelerated through the summer, economists expect that GDP rose sharply at the end of the year, with the Atlanta Fed tracking 6.7% growth. Federal Reserve officials have been watching the data closely.
Inflation is running at its strongest pace in nearly 40 years, while some policymakers see the jobs market near full employment. Consequently, the central bank has indicated it will begin slowing the help it has been providing the economy since the pandemic began.
Friday’s report covered the week including Dec. 12, which came before the worst of an omicron spike that began heading into Christmas.
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