U.S. Jobs Dud: Economy Added Just 199,000 Jobs in December

Consumers in the U.S. spent heavily this year on Christmas gifts, pushing retail sales up 11 percent higher than 2019 in the traditional holiday shopping season beginning November 1. And lots of shopping took place earlier this year as consumers fretted that snarled supply chains would lead to shortages of goods. In anticipation of that, many businesses staffed up earlier in the year than is traditional.