In the month of December, U.S. employment rose by 199,000, and the unemployment rate declined to 3.9 percent, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The number of unemployed Americans decreased by 483,000 to 6.3 million.

Prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, (February 2020), the unemployment rate was 3.5 percent and 5.7 million Americans were unemployed. According to the Bureau, 3.1 million people reported that they were unable to work in December 2021 because the employer closed or lost business due to the pandemic. This measure was down from the level of 3.6 million in November 2021.