U.S. unemployment rate sinks to 3.9%

The nation’s unemployment rate fell in December to a healthy 3.9% — a pandemic low — even as employers added a modest 199,000 jobs, evidence that they are struggling to fill jobs with many Americans still reluctant to return to the workforce. The drop in the jobless rate, from 4.2% in November, indicated that many more Americans found jobs last month. Indeed, despite the slight hiring gain reported by businesses, 651,000 more people said they were employed in December compared with November. Still, the jobs data reported Friday reflected the state of the job market in early December — before the spike in COVID-19 infections began to disrupt the economy.