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Saturday, January 9th, 2021

U.S. shed 140,000 jobs in December, halting labor market recovery

Author:     Courtenay Brown
Source:     Axios
Publication Date:     8 January 2021
 Link: U.S. shed 140,000 jobs in December, halting labor market recovery
Stephan:   Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, like Obama and Biden after Bush the younger, are coming into office at a time when the country is in a state of collapse. It is an historically proven pattern: Republicans trash the country and Democrats come into office and have to spend the first part of their time in office repairing the Republican damage. Personally, I think 2021 is going to be a very difficult year, the national equivalent to an individual facing a long recuperation after a devastating illness.

The U.S. economy shed 140,000 jobs in December, while the unemployment rate held at6.7%, the government said on Friday.

Why it matters: The job market recovery that had been underway for the past seven months ended last month, buckling from the pressure of the coronavirus pandemic.

Details: The leisure and hospitality sector shed nearly 500,000 jobs, reflecting the enormous stress the sector faces as coronavirus cases surge and states impose economic restrictions — leading to worker layoffs.

  • Three quarters of these losses (372,000) were in restaurants and bars. Cold weather prevented them from taking advantage of the outdoor dining that helped keep business afloat in earlier months.

The bottom line: The labor market was digging out from the over 22 million jobs lost because of the coronavirus. The way worse-than-expected December numbers chips away at that progress, dashing any lingering hopes of a “V-shaped’ job recovery.

  • The job market is 9.8 million jobs short of where it was before the pandemic hit, with 55% of the jobs lost in March and April having come back.

What to watch: Economists are looking ahead […]

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