December 2021 data released today by BLS show the US economy added 199,000 jobs- well below the 422,000 expected - but the unemployment rate dropped significantly from 4.2% to 3.9% as metrics continued to be volatile.

President Biden said in a news conference that the BLS numbers mark "a historic day in our national recovery."

Stability in employment numbers is unlikely to return soon as the Omicron variant of COVID-19 disrupts school reopenings, workers returning to workplaces, and major sporting and other events.

The leisure and hospitality sector continued to recover, adding 53,000 jobs in December for a total of 2.6M in 2021 - but still a loss of 7.2% from February 2020.

Employment in retail trade was little changed from November.

Average non-farm hourly wage increased by $0.19 to $31.31.