U.S. employers shed 140,000 jobs in December amid COVID-19 surges and new business constraints, closing out a dismal year with the first payroll losses since the pandemic upended the economy last spring.
Restaurants and bars hemorrhaged jobs, and the report kicks off a potentially brutal winter as the nation awaits wide distribution of a vaccine that should pave the way for brighter days.
The unemployment rate, which is calculated from a different survey, held steady at 6.7%, the Labor Department said Friday.
