The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics released the December 2021 employment situation January 7, 2022. According to the report, total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 199,000 and the unemployment rate has dropped to 3.9 percent. The report increased October and November numbers by 141,000.
In terms of annual growth, 2021 saw the biggest one-year drop in unemployment since 1949. The rate of recovery is three times faster than recovery after the Great Recession.
- The report presents statistics from two monthly surveys.
- Total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 199,000.
- The December 2021 unemployment rate is 3.9 percent.
- The rate declined by 0.3 percentage point from the previous month.
- The October number was revised up by 102,000, from +546,000 to +648,000.
- The revision for November was up by 39,000, from +210,000 to +249,000.
- The number of permanent job losers, at 1.7 million in December, declined by 202,000.
- The number of long-term unemployed declined by 185,000 to 2.0 million.
- The labor force participation rate was unchanged at 61.9 percent.
- The number of persons employed part time for economic reasons decreased by 337,000 to 3.9 million.
- The number of persons not in the labor force who currently want a job was 5.7 million.
- The share of employed persons who teleworked because of the coronavirus pandemic was 11.1 percent.
Today’s U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics report is based on the Household Survey Data and Establishment Survey Data. Reports regarding unemployment are released monthly. New reports include adjustments due to the collection of more data. The data in the report are interpreted along with the ADP report on 807,000 jobs increase from November to December to provide a good description of the current U.S. economy health.
In terms of the Household Survey, data collection reference dates are different in November and December due to holidays. For the December report, the reference was December 5. Data were collected the next two weeks then analyzed for two weeks.
In terms of the payroll data (Establishment Survey), data collection reference dates always include the date of the 12th in the week. During that time, businesses provide payroll data for the week of the 12th. This payroll can be for a weekly or monthly paycheck.