Country lost jobs for first time since April. By Graham Kilmer - Jan 8th, 2021 08:53 pm //end headline wrapper ?> Get a daily rundown of the top stories on Urban Milwaukee On March 19th, the downtown Milwaukee Punch Bowl Social laid off 91 employees. Photo by Jennifer Rick. The steady recovery from job losses that occurred during the pandemic’s onset officially ended in December as the unemployment rate’s descent has stalled and job losses surpassed gains. The monthly jobs report from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) shows that the estimated unemployment rate remained at 6.7% in December and that the number of unemployed persons did not change — 10.7 million. Both are approximately two-times higher than before the pandemic hit.