Unemployment rate declines while job growth eases

The Labor Department’s monthly report showed employers only added 199,000 positions in December—less than half of what economists projected.

What does this mean for the economy? Overall, there were 4.5 percent more jobs added in 2021 than a year earlier, which is the largest yearly increase since 1978. But the growth in December was less than expected. The country averaged 537,000 new jobs per month in 2021. The economy remains roughly 3.6 million jobs short of pre-pandemic levels, with 6.3 million open positions as of December.

Dig deeper: Read Andrée Seu Peterson’s column in WORLD Magazine for tips on handling rising inflation.