U.S. Labor Secretary Marty Walsh sought to defend President Biden’s plans to rebuild the U.S. economy on Friday, blaming the inconsistencies in last month’s jobs report largely on uncertainty as the nation continues its recovery from ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

Speaking to Spectrum News on Friday, Walsh said the pace of the country's economic recovery “has everything to do with the times we're living in."

“We’re still living in a pandemic time, [and] these are very unprecedented times as we move forward,” Walsh added. “I think people are concerned about their safety, their health, their future, their family. So we just need to continue to move forward a step at a time.”

His remarks came hours after the release of November's jobs report, which painted a mixed picture of the nation’s economic recovery.

According to the report, unemployment fell to 4.2% in November — the lowest figure since the start of the pandemic, and down from 4.6% the previous month. President Biden hailed those figures Friday morning, saying: "Our jobs recovery is going very strong."

But the U.S added just 210,000 jobs last month, falling short economists' predictions, and less than half of October’s increase of more than 540,000 jobs.

“Under normal circumstances, 210,000 jobs gained is great” Walsh said Friday. “But unfortunately, we're not living in normal times at the moment.”

It should be noted that monthly jobs figures are often revised: In November's report, for instance, October's jobs figures were revised upward, from 531,000 initially reported to 546,000, an increase of 15,000; September's figures were similarly revised, adding an additional 67,000, from 312,000 to 379,000.

Some of the largest job gains came in November were the sectors of professional and business services, transportation and warehousing, and construction and manufacturing — industries that have benefited particularly well by the boom in online shopping ahead of the holiday.

On the other hand, the Retail trade industry saw losses of 20,000 in November. State and local education (-15,600) and Nursing homes (-11,000) also saw losses.

The losses in the retail sector could be a sign that seasonal hiring has not been as strong as previous years, especially as many consumers turn to online shopping to fulfill the bulk of their gift lists.

Asked about the sluggish retail numbers, Walsh said, “I think there's two things going on.”

“Number one, is retail jobs are very public facing, and people are concerned about their health. And they're worried about people coming in shopping and going to work,” he said. “And number two is childcare. I think that that is a big issue still in our country, and in [the] Build Back Better reconciliation package, there’s investments to deal with child care.”

Biden's nearly $2 trillion Build Back Better bill, which passed the House last month, makes significant investments in child care, including funding for universal pre-Kindergarten. The bill is currently under negotiation in the Senate, with a goal of passage before the new year.

Whether or not retailers have raised wages for employees could also be a factor in hiring, Walsh said.

Many employers are also bracing for the newly discovered omicron variant of the coronavirus detected in multiple U.S. states, and some analysts fear that it could stall or reverse hard-fought economic gains, much like the delta variant earlier this year.

Asked Friday whether he believed the omicron variant would keep people from reentering the workforce, Walsh maintained that it was too early to tell.

“I don't think we'll have a good understanding for probably another 10 days on — you know, we have to look at the data and talk to the medical experts,” he said. “… We’re still waiting for what the impact of the omicron virus potentially could mean, for the [U.S.] and for the world right now, [and] we still don't have enough data on that.”

Walsh also stressed that a one-month snapshot is not the best way to measure protracted economic growth.

“[It's] not one month, it's a combination of a plan,” he said. “And the president has put together a really strong plan to push back our economy; to bring it back. And we're seeing the impact in a positive way from that.”

“It’s hard to take this month by month, although we do …” he said. “But at the end of the day, you look at the whole plan. And what President Biden laid out in January, it's working.”

Biden, for his part, struck an even sunnier tone. Speaking at the White House earlier Friday, Biden touted the report as “very strong” — pointing in particular to the 4.2% unemployment rate.  

"We're looking at the sharpest one-year decline in unemployment ever,” he said. “Simply put, America is back to work.”

Watch U.S. Labor Secretary Marty Walsh's full interview with Spectrum News' Kevin Frey above.