CNBC: Where the jobs are

The U.S. economy ended seven months of job gains and posted its first net payrolls loss since April last month as restaurants laid off droves of workers with the arrival of the winter months.

The Labor Department reported Friday that total nonfarm payroll employment fell by 140,000 in December as fears over a Covid-19 resurgence sparked a backslide in travel and hospitality job numbers. The unemployment rate held at 6.7%.

The decline in total payroll employment was worse than the net loss of 50,000 that economists had forecast.

CNBC studied the net changes by industry for December jobs based on data contained in the employment report.

The broad leisure and hospitality sector saw outsized job losses thanks almost entirely to a torrent of layoffs at bars and restaurants as winter weather begins across much of the U.S.