WASHINGTON—U.S. employers shed jobs last month for the first time since April, cutting 140,000 positions, clear evidence that the economy is faltering as the viral pandemic tightens its grip on consumers and businesses. At the same time, the unemployment rate stayed at 6.7 percent, the first time since April that it hasn’t fallen. The Jan. 8 figures from the Labor Department depict a sharply uneven job market, with losses concentrated among restaurants, bars, hotels, and entertainment venues, many of them affecting low-income employees, while most other sectors are still adding workers. Still, the nation has nearly 10 million fewer jobs than it did before the pandemic sent it into a deep recession nearly a year ago, having recovered just 56 percent of the jobs lost in the spring. The pandemic likely will continue to weaken the economy through winter and perhaps early spring, and further job losses are possible in …