America’s recovery faltered last month as job creation slowed markedly even before a new Covid-19 variant heightened concern about the global economic outlook.
Employers in the US added 210,000 jobs in November, falling considerably short of forecasts of half a million on Wall Street.
It is the weakest monthly reading of the year so far, based on data collected before the emergence of the Omicron variant raised fears over the months ahead.
Headline unemployment in the world’s largest economy fell from 4.6 per cent to 4.2 per cent, according to an official report released today by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The recovery of the workforce was marred by muted growth in the leisure, hospitality and healthcare sectors. The US retail industry shed 20,000