The number of employees receiving pay or benefits from their employer—measured by the Survey of Employment, Payrolls and Hours (SEPH) as payroll employment—rose by 122,200 (+0.7%) in December, the seventh consecutive monthly increase.
The gains in December brought payroll employment above its pre-pandemic level for the first time, surpassing the February 2020 level by 60,400 (+0.4%). The widespread emergence of the Omicron variant, and associated adjustments to public health measures, occurred later in December and were not observed in December payroll employment.
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