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    January 12, 2022

    Employment by Industry: December Underperforms

    Written by David Schollaert

    The U.S. labor market disappointed once again, adding just 199,000 jobs in December, down from the 249,000 jobs added the month prior. Despite seeing the smallest gains in a year, the unemployment rate fell to 3.9%, from 4.2% in November. The latest data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics showed that the U.S. economy created far fewer jobs than expected in December, a trend seen over the past several months.

    The December numbers cap a year defined by swings in a job market that has underperformed as it remains entangled with the pandemic nearly two years on. All told, data suggest that an absence of available workers – and not a lack of demand – may be part of the reason hiring has languished over the past few months.

    David Schollaert

    David Schollaert is deputy editor-in-chief for Steel Market Update. David joined SMU after more than a decade in the metals and mining industry in a myriad of different roles. Much of his early experience and expertise were within the coverage and analysis of steel-making raw materials and served previously as senior editor of the CRU Prices Service. Most recently, however, before his return to market analysis, David held roles as a metals buyer and an operations manager for raw material suppliers. He can be contacted at david@steelmarketupdate.com or 724-720-1008.

    Read more from David Schollaert

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