Biden ignores disappointing December jobs figure, focusing instead on unemployment decline
President Joe Biden speaks from the State Dining Room of the White House in Washington, Friday, Sept. 3, 2021, on the August jobs report. ((AP Photo/Susan Walsh))
President Biden on Friday glossed over weak job growth in December that marked the worst month for hiring in a year, instead focusing on a surprise decline in the nation’s unemployment rate.
The Labor Department reported Friday morning that private businesses and other employers added just 199,000 new jobs in December, well below the 400,000 gain forecast by Refinitiv economists – a troubling sign that hiring slowed even before the highly contagious omicron variant began rapidly spreading across the nation.
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But other aspects of the report painted a brighter outlook. The unemployment rate unexpectedly plunged to 3.9% from 4.2%, indicating that more Americans found jobs last month than the report suggested, and
