In December, total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 199,000 jobs, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, and the unemployment rate fell to 3.9 percent. And 2021 overall saw an average monthly increase of 537,000 jobs.

Heidi Shierholz, president of the Economic Policy Institute, commented, “Looking over the full year, 2021 jobs data is pretty mindboggling. We added 6.4 million jobs, and the labor force participation rate rose. Wage growth was strong, and workers were able to quit their jobs to take better ones.”

Although the headline increase in jobs was below expectations, the changes in nonfarm payroll employment in October and November were revised upward by 102,000 jobs and 39,000 jobs, respectively.

Loretta Clodfelter is senior editor of Institutional Real Estate Americas.