December 2021 Jobs Reports

Unemployment Rate: 3.9 percent

Jobs Created: 199,000

Employment and Unemployment

1. The Department of Labor reported the unemployment rate decreased 0.3 percentage point to 3.9% in December.

2. Nonfarm jobs increased by 199,000 in December, with sizeable job gains in leisure and hospitality and professional and business services.

3. In October and November, job gains were higher on net than first reported. The department revised the change in nonfarm jobs for those months up by a combined 141,000 jobs.    

4. The U-6 unemployment rate, a broader measure that includes part-time and discouraged workers, decreased 0.4 percentage point to 7.3% in December.

Labor Force Participation

1. The labor force participation rate, the share of people employed or looking for work, remained at 61.9%. It is 1.5 percentage points below the level in February 2020.

Wages

1. In December, average hourly earnings for all employees in private nonfarm jobs increased by $0.19 to $31.31.