Economy: Employment Situation Report for December 2021

The Employment Situation Report for December 2021 was released by The Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics this morning:

Nonfarm Payrolls (month-to-month change)
Predicted: +500,000

Previous Month (Revised): 249,000
Actual: +199,000

U-3 Unemployment Rate (Headline)
Actual: 3.9%
Previous Month: 4.2%
12 Months Previous: 6.7%

U-6 Unemployment Rate*
Actual: 7.3%
Previous Month: 7.7%
12 Months Previous: 11.7%

Average Hourly Earnings (month-to-month change)
Predicted: +0.5%
Actual: +0.611% (+$0.19)

Average Hourly Earnings (year-on-year change)
Predicted: +3.5%
Actual: +4.681% (+$1.40)

Average Weekly Earnings (month-to-month change)
Actual: +0.611% (+$6.60)

Average Weekly Earnings (year-on-year change)
Actual: +4.681% (+$48.58)

Civilian Labor Force Participation Rate: 61.9%
Previous Month: 61.9%
12 Months Previous: 61.5%

Average Workweek
Predicted: 34.8 hours
Actual: 34.7 hours

Economist, academics, central bankers and investors pay very close attention to the monthly Employment Situation report as it offers penetrating insight as to the current and near-future state of the overall U.S. economy. If a) Americans are earning more money and b) the economy is creating new jobs, this typically translates to more money being pumped into the economy (and vice versa.)

The "predicted" figure is what economists were expecting, while the "actual" is the true or real figure.

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From Today's Report:

"...In December, the share of employed persons who teleworked because of the coronavirus pandemic was 11.1 percent, little different from November. These data refer to employed persons who teleworked
or worked at home for pay at some point in the 4 weeks preceding the survey specifically because of the pandemic.

In December, 3.1 million persons reported that they had been unable to work because their employer closed or lost business due to the pandemic -- that is, they did not work at all or worked fewer hours at
some point in the 4 weeks preceding the survey due to the pandemic. This measure was down from the level of 3.6 million in November. Among those who reported in December that they were unable to
work because of pandemic-related closures or lost business, 15.9 percent received at least some pay from their employer for the hours not worked, little changed from the prior month.

Among those not in the labor force in December, 1.1 million persons were prevented from looking for work due to the pandemic, little changed from November..."

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CHART: Nonfarm Payroll Employment
December 2021 Update

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CHART: U-3 (Headline) Unemployment Rate
December 2021 Update

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* = The U-6 Unemployment Rate is defined as:

"Total unemployed, plus all persons marginally attached to the labor force, plus total employed part time for economic reasons, as a percent of the civilian labor force plus all persons marginally attached to the labor force."

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