Lindsay (NYSE. ) Dunsmuir Jonnelle Marte and Dan Burns

(Reuters) – U.S. employers hired far fewer people than anticipated in December. However, the monthly government jobs report showed that the country had the lowest rate of unemployment during the COVID-19 pandemic. It also revealed that workers were earning more quickly and their wages rose at a fast pace.

Here are five notable numbers from Friday’s report: (Graphic: Pandemic pay rise, https://graphics.reuters.com/USA-ECONOMY/akpezeoolvr/chart.png)

MAKING MUCH MORE MONEY

The average weekly earnings of production workers and those who are not supervisory were up by 1% compared to December 2013, the highest increase since March. They were also up 5.8% from December last year. This is lower than other year-over-2018 increases in 2021 but it’s in line with the upward trend in above-average wage increases since the beginning of the pandemic. It shows that worker wages have increased on average by more than four decades. (Graphic: Unemployment hits a pandemic low, https://graphics.reuters.com/USA-ECONOMY/klpykqnmepg/chart.png)

PANDEMIC-ERA LOW UNEMPLOYMENT…

Economists predicted that the U.S. unemployment rate would fall more last month than it did, and is quickly approaching pre-pandemic levels. It is currently at 3.9%. That’s down from 4.2% in Nov and lower than the Federal Reserve estimates of its long-term rate. This is also slightly lower than the 3.5% level it was before the start of the pandemic. The slowing pace of American job growth and the subdued increase in Americans working in the workforce means that it is still well below the 3.5% mark before the outbreak of the pandemic. This gives support to the U.S. central banks’ clear determination to lift its overnight benchmark interest rate from close to zero earlier than expected. (Graphic: Unemployment rate by race and ethnicity, https://graphics.reuters.com/USA-ECONOMY/JOBS/lgpdwjoxdvo/chart.png)

… However, this is not true for all GROUPS

Black workers saw their unemployment rate increase to 7.1% in December, more than twice the rate at 3.2% for whites. This was a significant development that U.S. Labor Secretary Marty Walsh described as “troubling.” Black women and Black men had a slightly lower employment rate last month than the rest of the country, as they began to see the economic effects of Omicron-variant COVID-19. Some events were cancelled and businesses closed. Black workers did see an increase in employment from 2020’s end, when the unemployment rate was 10%. However, the last-month increase is an indication of the persistent racial gap in the labor marketplace. (Graphic: December hiring was less broadbased, https://graphics.reuters.com/USA-ECONOMY/zdvxoqxqapx/chart.png)

HIRE NARROWED OVER INDUSTRIES

The balance of hiring remains broad-based, with an industry level consistent with strong jobs markets. However it was somewhat lower in December. Labor Department’s “Diffusion Index”, which measures how distributed the hiring activity across 257 industries, fell to its lowest point since January. It also fell below the average for the past 12 months. Although hard-hit areas like leisure and hospitality are recovering well, the hiring activity in healthcare, government, and financial services has been slowing or stopping. (Graphic: U.S. hospital employment, https://graphics.reuters.com/USA-ECONOMY/jnpwejalrpw/chart.png)

HOSPITAL EMPLOYMENT SOFTENED AS OMICRON SURGED

The frontline for the COVID-19 public health response, hospitals, saw employment slide through 2021. It fell to its lowest point since June in December. This happened despite the fact that wards were often overcrowded by Omicron-related cases.