The Morning Dispatch: A Big Slowdown in Job Growth

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Quick Hits: Today’s Top Stories

  • The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday that the U.S. economy added 245,000 jobs in November, a sharp drop from the 610,000 added in October. The nation’s unemployment rate dropped from 6.9 percent to 6.7 percent, in part because of decreased labor force participation. Of the 22 million jobs lost in the early weeks of the pandemic, about 12 million have been regained.

  • President-elect Joe Biden has begun putting together his health care team, reportedly selecting California Attorney General Xavier Becerra to run the Department of Health and Human Services, Massachusetts General Hospital infectious diseases chief Rochelle Walensky to head up the CDC, Obama administration Surgeon General Vivek Murthy to serve in that position again, and Obama administration official Jeff Zients as the White House’s COVID-19 coordinator.

  • The House of Representatives voted 228-164 on Friday to decriminalize marijuana at the federal level, expunge some federal convictions for nonviolent marijuana offenses, and institute a 5 percent excise tax on the drug. The bill now goes to the Senate, where it is almost assuredly not going to pass.

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