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<\/p>\nWashington, DC…Total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 199,000 in December, and the unemployment rate declined to 3.9 percent, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Employment continued to trend up in leisure and hospitality, in professional and business services, in manufacturing, in construction, and in transportation and warehousing.<\/p>\n
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This news release presents statistics from two monthly surveys. The household survey\r\nmeasures labor force status, including unemployment, by demographic characteristics. The\r\nestablishment survey measures nonfarm employment, hours, and earnings by industry. For\r\nmore information about the concepts and statistical methodology used in these two surveys,\r\nsee the Technical Note.\r\n\r\n _______________________________________________________________________________________\r\n|\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t|\r\n| Revision of Seasonally Adjusted Household Survey Data |\r\n|\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t|\r\n| Seasonally adjusted household survey data have been revised using updated seasonal \t|\r\n| adjustment factors, a procedure done at the end of each calendar year. Seasonally \t|\r\n| adjusted estimates back to January 2017 were subject to revision. The unemployment \t|\r\n| rates for January 2021 through November 2021 (as originally published and as revised) |\r\n| appear in table A at the end of this news release, along with additional information\t|\r\n| about the revisions.\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t|\r\n|_______________________________________________________________________________________|\r\n\r\n\r\nHousehold Survey Data\r\n\r\nThe unemployment rate declined by 0.3 percentage point to 3.9 percent in December, and the\r\nnumber of unemployed persons decreased by 483,000 to 6.3 million. Over the year, these \r\nmeasures are down by 2.8 percentage points and 4.5 million, respectively. In February 2020,\r\nprior to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, the unemployment rate was 3.5 percent, and \r\nunemployed persons numbered 5.7 million. (See table A-1. See the box note at the end of \r\nthis news release for more information about how the household survey and its measures were\r\naffected by the coronavirus pandemic.)\r\n\r\nAmong the major worker groups, the unemployment rates for adult men (3.6 percent), adult\r\nwomen (3.6 percent), and Whites (3.2 percent) declined in December. The jobless rates for \r\nteenagers (10.9 percent), Blacks (7.1 percent), Asians (3.8 percent), and Hispanics (4.9 \r\npercent) showed little or no change over the month. (See tables A-1, A-2, and A-3.)\r\n\r\nAmong the unemployed, the number of permanent job losers, at 1.7 million in December, \r\ndeclined by 202,000 over the month and is down by 1.8 million over the year. The number of\r\npersons on temporary layoff was little changed at 812,000 in December but is down by 2.3\r\nmillion over the year. The number of permanent job losers in December is 408,000 higher \r\nthan in February 2020, while the number on temporary layoff has essentially returned to \r\nits February 2020 level. (See table A-11.)\r\n\r\nThe number of long-term unemployed (those jobless for 27 weeks or more) declined by \r\n185,000 to 2.0 million in December. This measure is down from 4.0 million a year earlier \r\nbut is 887,000 higher than in February 2020. The long-term unemployed accounted for 31.7 \r\npercent of the total unemployed in December. (See table A-12.)\r\n\r\nThe labor force participation rate was unchanged at 61.9 percent in December but remains \r\n1.5 percentage points lower than in February 2020. The employment-population ratio \r\nincreased by 0.2 percentage point to 59.5 percent in December but is 1.7 percentage points\r\nbelow its February 2020 level. Over the year, these measures have increased by 0.4 \r\npercentage point and 2.1 percentage points, respectively. (See table A-1.)\r\n\r\nThe number of persons employed part time for economic reasons, at 3.9 million in December,\r\ndecreased by 337,000 over the month. The over-the-year decline of 2.2 million brings this\r\nmeasure to 461,000 below its February 2020 level. These individuals, who would have \r\npreferred full-time employment, were working part time because their hours had been \r\nreduced or they were unable to find full-time jobs. (See table A-8.)\r\n\r\nThe number of persons not in the labor force who currently want a job was little changed at\r\n5.7 million in December. This measure decreased by 1.6 million over the year but is 717,000\r\nhigher than in February 2020. These individuals were not counted as unemployed because they\r\nwere not actively looking for work during the 4 weeks preceding the survey or were \r\nunavailable to take a job. (See table A-1.)\r\n\r\nAmong those not in the labor force who wanted a job, the number of persons marginally \r\nattached to the labor force was essentially unchanged at 1.6 million in December. These \r\nindividuals wanted and were available for work and had looked for a job sometime in the \r\nprior 12 months but had not looked for work in the 4 weeks preceding the survey. The number\r\nof discouraged workers, a subset of the marginally attached who believed that no jobs were\r\navailable for them, was also essentially unchanged over the month, at 463,000. (See Summary\r\ntable A.)\r\n\r\nHousehold Survey Supplemental Data\r\n\r\nIn December, the share of employed persons who teleworked because of the coronavirus \r\npandemic was 11.1 percent, little different from November. These data refer to employed \r\npersons who teleworked or worked at home for pay at some point in the 4 weeks preceding \r\nthe survey specifically because of the pandemic.\r\n\r\nIn December, 3.1 million persons reported that they had been unable to work because their\r\nemployer closed or lost business due to the pandemic--that is, they did not work at all \r\nor worked fewer hours at some point in the 4 weeks preceding the survey due to the \r\npandemic. This measure was down from the level of 3.6 million in November. Among those who\r\nreported in December that they were unable to work because of pandemic-related closures or\r\nlost business, 15.9 percent received at least some pay from their employer for the hours\r\nnot worked, little changed from the prior month.\r\n\r\nAmong those not in the labor force in December, 1.1 million persons were prevented from \r\nlooking for work due to the pandemic, little changed from November. (To be counted as \r\nunemployed, by definition, individuals must be either actively looking for work or on \r\ntemporary layoff.)\r\n\r\nThese supplemental data come from questions added to the household survey beginning in\r\nMay 2020 to help gauge the effects of the pandemic on the labor market. The data are not\r\nseasonally adjusted. Tables with estimates from the supplemental questions for all months\r\nare available online at www.bls.gov\/cps\/effects-of-the-coronavirus-covid-19-pandemic.htm.\r\n\r\nEstablishment Survey Data\r\n\r\nTotal nonfarm payroll employment rose by 199,000 in December. Job growth averaged 537,000\r\nper month in 2021. Nonfarm employment has increased by 18.8 million since April 2020 but\r\nis down by 3.6 million, or 2.3 percent, from its pre-pandemic level in February 2020. In\r\nDecember, employment continued to trend up in leisure and hospitality, in professional \r\nand business services, in manufacturing, in construction, and in transportation and \r\nwarehousing. (See table B-1. See the box note at the end of this news release for more \r\ninformation about how the establishment survey and its measures were affected by the \r\ncoronavirus pandemic.)\r\n\r\nEmployment in leisure and hospitality continued to trend up in December (+53,000). Leisure\r\nand hospitality has added 2.6 million jobs in 2021, but employment in the industry is down\r\nby 1.2 million, or 7.2 percent, since February 2020. Employment in food services and\r\ndrinking places rose by 43,000 in December but is down by 653,000 since February 2020.\r\n\r\nEmployment in professional and business services continued its upward trend in December \r\n(+43,000). Over the month, job gains occurred in computer systems design and related \r\nservices (+10,000), in architectural and engineering services (+9,000), and in scientific \r\nresearch and development services (+6,000). Employment in professional and business \r\nservices overall is slightly below (-35,000) its level in February 2020. \r\n\r\nManufacturing added 26,000 jobs in December, primarily in durable goods industries. A job\r\ngain in machinery (+8,000) reflected the return of workers from a strike. Manufacturing \r\nemployment is down by 219,000 since February 2020. \r\n\r\nConstruction employment rose by 22,000 in December, following monthly gains averaging \r\n38,000 over the prior 3 months. In December, job gains occurred in nonresidential \r\nspecialty trade contractors (+13,000) and in heavy and civil engineering construction \r\n(+10,000). Construction employment is 88,000 below its February 2020 level.\r\n\r\nEmployment in transportation and warehousing increased by 19,000 in December. Job gains \r\noccurred in support activities for transportation (+7,000), in air transportation (+6,000),\r\nand in warehousing and storage (+5,000). Employment in couriers and messengers was \r\nessentially unchanged. Since February 2020, employment in transportation and warehousing is\r\nup by 218,000, reflecting job growth in couriers and messengers (+202,000) and in \r\nwarehousing and storage (+181,000).\r\n\r\nEmployment in wholesale trade increased by 14,000 in December but is 129,000 lower than in\r\nFebruary 2020.\r\n\r\nMining employment rose by 7,000 in December. Employment in the industry is down by 81,000\r\nfrom a peak in January 2019. \r\n\r\nIn December, employment showed little or no change in other major industries, including \r\nretail trade, information, financial activities, health care, other services, and \r\ngovernment. \r\n\r\nIn December, average hourly earnings for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls \r\nincreased by 19 cents to $31.31. Over the past 12 months, average hourly earnings have \r\nincreased by 4.7 percent. In December, average hourly earnings of private-sector \r\nproduction and nonsupervisory employees rose by 18 cents to $26.61. (See tables B-3\r\nand B-8.)\r\n\r\nThe average workweek for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls was unchanged at 34.7\r\nhours in December. In manufacturing, the average workweek edged down by 0.1 hour to 40.3\r\nhours, and overtime edged down by 0.1 hour to 3.2 hours. The average workweek for \r\nproduction and nonsupervisory employees on private nonfarm payrolls edged up by 0.1 hour\r\nto 34.2 hours. (See tables B-2 and B-7.)\r\n\r\nThe change in total nonfarm payroll employment for October was revised up by 102,000, \r\nfrom +546,000 to +648,000, and the change for November was revised up by 39,000, from \r\n+210,000 to +249,000. With these revisions, employment in October and November combined\r\nis 141,000 higher than previously reported. (Monthly revisions result from additional \r\nreports received from businesses and government agencies since the last published \r\nestimates and from the recalculation of seasonal factors.) \r\n\r\n_____________\r\nThe Employment Situation for January is scheduled to be released on Friday, February 4,\r\n2022, at 8:30 a.m. (ET).\r\n\r\n\r\n _______________________________________________________________________________________\r\n|\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t|\r\n| Coronavirus (COVID-19) Impact on December 2021 Household |\r\n|\t\t and Establishment Survey Data \t\t\t|\r\n|\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t|\r\n| Data collection for both surveys was affected by the pandemic. In the establishment \t|\r\n| survey, more data continued to be collected by web than in months prior to the \t|\r\n| pandemic. In the household survey, for the safety of both interviewers and \t\t|\r\n| respondents, in-person interviews were conducted only when telephone interviews could |\r\n| not be done. \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t|\r\n|\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t|\r\n| As in previous months, some workers affected by the pandemic who should have been \t|\r\n| classified in the household survey as unemployed on temporary layoff were instead \t|\r\n| misclassified as employed but not at work. Since March 2020, BLS has published an \t|\r\n| upper-bound estimate of what the unemployment rate might have been had misclassified |\r\n| workers been included among the unemployed. The degree of misclassification was \t|\r\n| highest in the early months of the pandemic and has been considerably lower in recent |\r\n| months. In April 2020, this exercise suggested the unemployment rate would have been |\r\n| 4.8 percentage points higher than reported. Repeating this exercise, the unemployment |\r\n| rates for October 2021 through December 2021 would have been 0.1 percentage point \t|\r\n| higher than reported. For details on how to perform this calculation, see \t\t|\r\n| www.bls.gov\/covid19\/effects-of-covid-19-pandemic-and-response-on-the-employment-\t|\r\n| situation-news-release.htm#ques12. \t\t\t\t\t\t\t|\r\n|\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t|\r\n| For each month from March 2020 to December 2021, BLS has published a summary of the \t|\r\n| impact of the pandemic on The Employment Situation news release and data. The impact \t|\r\n| summary for December is available at \t\t\t\t\t\t\t|\r\n| www.bls.gov\/covid19\/employment-situation-covid19-faq-december-2021.htm. Beginning \t|\r\n| with publication of January 2022 data in February 2022, this month-specific impact \t|\r\n| summary will be discontinued. However, information related to the impact of the \t|\r\n| pandemic will continue to be available at www.bls.gov\/covid19\/effects-of-covid-19-\t|\r\n| pandemic-and-response-on-the-employment-situation-news-release.htm.\t\t\t|\r\n|_______________________________________________________________________________________|\r\n\r\n\r\n _______________________________________________________________________________________\r\n|\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t|\r\n| Upcoming Changes to Household Survey Data |\r\n|\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t|\r\n| Effective with the release of The Employment Situation for January 2022 on February \t|\r\n| 4, 2022, new population controls will be used in the household survey estimation \t|\r\n| process. These new controls will reflect a \"blended base,\" which is 2010 Census-based |\r\n| and controlled to elements from the 2020 Census and other sources. In accordance with |\r\n| usual practice, historical data will not be revised to incorporate the new controls; \t|\r\n| consequently, household survey data for January 2022 will not be directly comparable |\r\n| with data for December 2021 or earlier periods. A table showing the effects of the \t|\r\n| new controls on the major labor force series will be included in the January 2022 \t|\r\n| news release. \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t|\r\n|_______________________________________________________________________________________|\r\n\r\n\r\n _______________________________________________________________________________________\r\n|\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t|\r\n| Upcoming Revisions to Establishment Survey Data |\r\n|\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t|\r\n| Effective with the release of The Employment Situation for January 2022 on February \t|\r\n| 4, 2022, the establishment survey will revise nonfarm payroll employment, hours, and \t|\r\n| earnings data to reflect the annual benchmark process and updated seasonal adjustment |\r\n| factors. Not seasonally adjusted data beginning with April 2020 and seasonally \t|\r\n| adjusted data beginning with January 2017 are subject to revision. Consistent with \t|\r\n| standard practice, additional historical data may be revised as a result of the \t|\r\n| benchmark process.\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t|\r\n|_______________________________________________________________________________________|\r\n\r\n\r\n Revision of Seasonally Adjusted Household Survey Data \r\n\r\n\r\nAt the end of each calendar year, BLS routinely updates the seasonal adjustment factors \r\nfor the national labor force series derived from the household survey. As a result of \r\nthis process, seasonally adjusted data for January 2017 through November 2021 were \r\nsubject to revision. (Not seasonally adjusted data were not subject to revision.) \r\n\r\nTable A shows the unemployment rates for January 2021 through November 2021, as first \r\npublished and as revised. The rate changed by one-tenth of a percentage point in 3 of the\r\n11 months and was unchanged in the remaining 8 months. Revised seasonally adjusted data\r\nfor other major labor force series beginning in December 2020 appear in table B. \r\n\r\nMore information on this year's revisions to seasonally adjusted household series is \r\navailable at www.bls.gov\/web\/empsit\/cps-seas-adjustment-methodology.pdf. Detailed \r\ninformation on the seasonal adjustment methodology is found at \r\nwww.bls.gov\/cps\/seasonal-adjustment-methodology.htm. \r\n\r\nHistorical data for the household series contained in the A tables of this news release\r\ncan be accessed at www.bls.gov\/cps\/cpsatabs.htm. Revised historical seasonally adjusted\r\ndata are available at www.bls.gov\/cps\/data.htm and \r\nhttps:\/\/download.bls.gov\/pub\/time.series\/ln\/.\r\n\r\n\r\nTable A. Seasonally adjusted unemployment rates in 2021 and change due to revision,\r\nJanuary \u2013 November 2021\r\n\r\n\r\nMonth As First Computed As Revised Change\r\n\r\nJanuary............. 6.3 6.4 0.1\r\nFebruary............ 6.2 6.2 0.0\r\nMarch............... 6.0 6.0 0.0\r\nApril............... 6.1 6.0 -0.1\r\nMay................. 5.8 5.8 0.0\r\nJune................ 5.9 5.9 0.0\r\nJuly................ 5.4 5.4 0.0\r\nAugust.............. 5.2 5.2 0.0\r\nSeptember........... 4.8 4.7 -0.1\r\nOctober............. 4.6 4.6 0.0\r\nNovember............ 4.2 4.2 0.0<\/pre>\n