At the end of 2020, jobs increased, but there is still a large gap in jobs

The employers reported on Tuesday that employers added slightly more jobs at the end of last year, but rents declined as the labor market ended 2020.

Total openings increased to 6.65 million in December, better than FactSet’s 6.6 million estimate.

This still left a gap of about 4.1 million workers who remained unemployed, many of whom were still displaced by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Although jobs continue to increase, in February 2020 it remains below the pre-pandemic level of just over 7 million.

Vacancies rose by nearly 300,000 in professional and business services, swelling its opening figure from 5.6% to 6.9%.

Available positions declined in leisure and hospitality, which for the month dropped by 127,000 to 761,000, dropping the opening rate from 6.2% to 5.5%.

Rents fell sharply for the month, by nearly 400,000 to 5.54 million, according to the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey, a report that policymakers are closely monitoring for clues about labor market sluggishness.

The bulk of the rental attack came in the hospitality industry, which had a drop of more than 300,000 to 777,000. Within the group, arts, entertainment and leisure were down 82,000 as the rental rate dropped from 7.8% in November to 3.5%.

Hospitality, which includes hotels, restaurants, bars and casinos, increased by 63,000 or 3.9%, compared to 3.2% in the previous month.

Overall, the payroll for non-farms was 227,000 for December. In January, there was a rebound of 49,000, but more than 10 million remain unemployed, which is 4.4 million higher than the pre-pandemic level.

JOLTS data runs a month behind the payroll count. The unemployment rate in January fell to 6.3%, but it came amid a sharp drop in the labor force.

The closure level, a measure of job confidence, rose slightly when 3.29 million workers left their jobs, an increase of 106,000 for the month.

The total separation decreased slightly to 5.46 million.