It seemed appropriate that the jobs numbers for the final months of 2020 would be as nasty as the year as a whole was. It is fair to say that the loss of 140,000 jobs in December indicates a backsliding of the economic recovery that took place in the summer and fall. Other numbers in Friday’s report confirm that basically gloomy picture, such as the continued depressed share of adults who are in the labor force. In the debate over which letter of the alphabet best describes the pattern of the 2020 economy, the December numbers pretty much rule out “V.”But. The December numbers point to a jobs crisis that is contained to sectors dealing with the direct effects of pandemic-related shutdowns.

Source: International New York Times January 08, 2021 15:03 UTC