Trump’s Last Full Jobs Report: Economy Loses 140,000 Jobs, First Decrease Since April

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Jobs dropped in December for the first time since the outset of the coronavirus pandemic, the Labor Department said Friday.

Nonfarm payrolls fell by 140,000 for the month, according to the department. The unemployment rate rose mildly as a result, from 6.7 percent to 6.8 percent. The U-6 unemployment rate, which includes those who are working part-time but cannot find full-time jobs, rose from 11.7 percent to 12 percent.

The figure was significantly worse than the one expected by economists surveyed by Dow Jones before the data was released. That group expected the economy to see a net gain of 50,000 jobs.

“There could still be another leg down,” MUFG Union Bank’s chief financial economist Chris Rupkey said in an interview with CNBC. “Nobody is going to be rushing to hire back more people at this stage, and certainly for leisure and hospitality. There’s a risk jobs fall further in next month’s report because of further lockdowns.”

The report comes amid a surge of fresh lockdowns related to Covid-19, including in California, which boasts the nation’s largest state economy. Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) announced in December that he would extend stay-at-home orders in effect around more than half of the state, a move that has not yet deterred the virus. The state on Thursday reported a two-day total of 1,042 deaths related to the coronavirus, a new record.

The nation’s unemployment rate last rose in April, just as most states began imposing lockdowns related to the virus, to about 19.7 percent. That was an increase from 3.5 percent in 2019, a half-century low.