U.S. added 199,000 jobs in December, a weak showing.
By Sydney Ember and Jeanna Smialek
The American economy stumbled in December, as the slowdown in hiring continued — even before the labor market faced a new threat from the coronavirus.Employers added 199,000 jobs in December, the Labor Department said Friday. That was down from 249,000 in November. The unemployment rate fell to 3.9 percent.
The faltering job growth was especially worrisome because the data released on Friday was collected in mid-December, before the pandemic’s latest wave. Since then, the Omicron variant has ignited a steep rise in new coronavirus cases, driving up hospitalizations, keeping people home from work and prompting fresh uncertainty among employers. Economists are bracing for the surge in cases to further disrupt job growth in January and in the coming months, though it is too soon to say how it will affect the labor market in the longer term.
“I think Omicron will slow hiring in January,” said Nela Richardson, chief economist at the payroll processing firm ADP. “It might hit in early February as well.” The report sets the tone heading into a crucial midterm election year and could foretell challenges for Democrats, who have struggled to tamp down anxiety about the economy.
The seesawing employment situation underscores the economy’s continued susceptibility to the pandemic, nearly two years on. Although the labor market has brightened, some industries with face-to-face interactions, notably leisure and hospitality, remain extraordinarily vulnerable to case levels.
https://www.nytimes.com/live/2022/01/07/business/stock-market-economy-news/jobs-report-december-2021
They won't admit that their models are broken and they really can't predict what will inevitably be revisions upon revisions due again to "late reporting".
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