SOUTHAMPTON, N.Y. — Employment growth slowed near the end of 2021, but the country is within striking distance of pre-pandemic unemployment levels, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' December jobs report.
Nationally, employment increased by 199,000 jobs in December and the unemployment rate fell 0.3 percentage points to a seasonally adjusted 3.9 percent, according to the BLS. The total number of jobs added was the lowest of any month in 2021. However, the BLS tends to revise the jobs estimate upward in the coming months.
The national unemployment rate fell by 2.8 percentage points during 2021 and continued to approach the pre-pandemic rate of 3.5%.
The latest local unemployment figures available are for November. this rate has improved since October in the Southampton area and remains lower than it was after the pandemic first hit.
Suffolk County's unemployment rate was 3.5 percent in November, up from 4 percent in October. This reflected some improvement from November 2020, when the unemployment rate stood at 5.7%.
Suffolk County's November jobless rate was lower than New York's rate of 5.5 percent, according to the latest data from the BLS.
Nationally, average hourly earnings rose 19 cents an hour from November to December, to $31.31, according to the BLS. Average hourly earnings rose 4.7 percent in 2021.
Some experts predict that hiring from January and possibly February will slow due to the omicron variant of the coronavirus, according to the New York Times.
The leisure/hospitality sector continued to add jobs, with a net gain of 53,000 positions in December. However, employment in the sector has fallen by 1.2 million positions, or 7.2 percent, since February 2020.
The BLS also revised its previous national monthly employment figures upward. October's total job gain was revised up by 102,000 positions, for a total increase of 648,000. November job growth increased by an additional 39,000 positions to a total of 249,000.
Editor's Note: This post was automatically generated using data from the Local Area Unemployment Statistics (LAUS) program of the US Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics. National figures are seasonally adjusted, while county and state figures are not seasonally adjusted. November figures are preliminary. Please report any bugs or other feedback to content@patch.com.
