US loses 140K jobs in 1st monthly drop since spring
WASHINGTON — U.S. employers shed jobs last month for the first time since April, cutting 140,000 positions, clear evidence that the economy is faltering as the viral pandemic tightens its grip on consumers and businesses.
At the same time, the unemployment rate stayed at 6.7%, the first time it hasn’t fallen since April.
Friday’s figures from the Labor Department depict a sharply uneven job market, with losses concentrated among restaurants, bars, hotels and entertainment venues, many of them affecting low-income employees, while most other sectors are still adding workers. Still, the nation has nearly 10 million fewer jobs than it did before the pandemic sent it into a deep recession nearly a year ago, having recovered just 56% of the jobs lost in the spring.
The pandemic will likely continue to weaken the economy through winter and perhaps early spring, and further job losses are possible in the coming months. But many economists say that once coronavirus vaccines are more widely distributed, a broader recovery should take hold in the second half of the year. The Biden administration, along with a now fully Democratic-led House and Senate, is also expected to push more rescue aid and spending measures that could accelerate growth.
For now, the renewed surge in virus cases, as well as cold weather, has caused millions of consumers to avoid eating out, shopping and traveling. Reimposed business restrictions have shut down numerous restaurants, bars and other venues. Economists at TD Securities estimate that more than half the states have restricted gatherings to 10 or fewer people, up from about a quarter in September. New York and California, among others, placed strict new limits on restaurants last month.
Last month, restaurants, bars, hotels, casinos, movie theaters and other entertainment venues shed nearly 500,000 jobs, the most since April, when nationwide shutdowns triggered 7.6 million layoffs. While those employers will regain some jobs as the economy recovers, changing consumer habits will likely mean that a portion will be gone for good. Business travel, for example, may not return to pre-pandemic levels.
Most other industries added jobs in
December, with manufacturers, construction companies, and higher-paying professional services such as architecture, engineering and accounting hiring more workers. The huge disparities among industries are sure to exacerbate economic inequality, given that most of the job losses are in lower-paid industries, while middleand higher-paid workers have largely remained employed.
Friday’s data suggest that the pandemic economy is continuing to benefit some sectors, with transportation and warehousing adding nearly 47,000 jobs. E-commerce firms also ramped up hiring. Delivery jobs rose 37,000.
Friday’s monthly jobs report, the last of Donald Trump’s presidency, shows that the nation has 3 million fewer jobs than it did four years earlier. That makes Trump the first president since Herbert Hoover, early in the Great Depression, to preside over a net loss of jobs.
All the job losses during the Trump administration occurred after the pandemic struck. Before then, the unemployment rate had reached a 50-year low of 3.5%. Still, Trump had pledged to create 25 million jobs in four years.