Washington: “The decline in payroll employment reflects the recent increase in coronavirus (COVID-19) cases and efforts to contain the pandemic,” the Labour Department’s Bureau of Labour Statistics (BLS) said in its monthly employment report.
The BLS report noted that employment in leisure and hospitality declined by 498,000, with three-quarters of the decrease in food services and drinking places, by 372,000, Xinhua news agency reported.
Since February 2020, employment in leisure and hospitality has been down by 3.9 million, or 23.2 per cent.
Employment in private education, meanwhile, decreased by 63,000 in December, the report showed, noting that employment in the industry has fallen by 450,000 since February.
Government employment also declined by 45,000 in the month. Since February 2020, government employment overall has been cut by 1.3 million.
In December, job losses in leisure and hospitality and in private education were partially offset by gains in professional and business services, retail trade, and construction, according to the Bureau’s report.
The report also showed that growth in total non-farm payroll employment for October was revised up by 44,000 to 654,000, and the gain for November was revised up by 91,000 to 336,000.
