The COVID-19 pandemic continues to affect the labor market. Total nonfarm payroll employment was little changed in January, with an increase of 49,000 jobs, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, while the unemployment rate fell 40 basis points to 6.3 percent.
But while January saw a modest increase, total employment in November and December 2020 was revised downward by 159,000 jobs, suggesting an economy struggling to put people back to work amid a pandemic. November’s increase in total nonfarm payroll employment was revised down from 336,000 jobs to 264,000, and the decrease in December employment was larger than first reported, with a loss of 227,000 jobs.
In a report for the Economic Policy Institute, economist Elise Gould explains, “These swings are partly due to seasonal adjustments. Every December, there are expectations of ramped up holiday hiring followed b
