Employers in the United States added only 194,000 jobs in September. This is a second consecutive sluggish gain and proof the pandemic is still wreaking havoc on the economy, with many businesses struggling to fill millions of available positions.
Employment Rate is Dropping Fast
The unemployment rate decreased substantially to 4.8 percent from 5.2 percent in August, according to the Labor Department’s data released Friday.
With previously confirmed COVID-19 cases dropping, eatery traffic going up slightly, and customers ready to spend, the industry is exhibiting signs of escaping from the grip of the Delta variant of the coronavirus.
However, as September started, the number of new infections stayed high; employers are still having difficulty finding workers since many people who lost jobs during the epidemic have yet to look for work.
Distribution network bottlenecks have also gotten worse, slowing manufacturing, limiting homebuilders, and leaving some retail shelves bare.
Even as the Delta variant begins to subside in the U.S., the country’s September job numbers reflect the devastation it caused https://t.co/AHyHva3tVf
— The Daily Beast (@thedailybeast) October 8, 2021
Most economists believe once COVID fades, the majority of the nearly three million people who lost jobs and ceased looking for work since the epidemic began would restart their hunt.
They point out it took years for the proportion of individuals working or looking for jobs to return to pre-crisis levels after the 2008-2009 crisis. People aren’t counted as jobless unless they’re looking for employment, according to the authorities.
Some of the conditions that held many unemployed people on the sidelines may be easing. For instance, as per a Census Bureau study, the number of people who don’t work because they have to stay home to take care of a child decreased by half in September, compared to the month before.
Last fall, when many institutions stayed closed and performed interactive reality, the figure had barely fallen. As the academic year started and their kids went back to school, the new census numbers imply more families, especially mothers, may have returned to work in September.
Parents are Struggling to Make Ends Meet
Democrat Rep. Sherrill admits the September jobs report was “bad” for women: “My gosh, in these last jobs numbers, women actually lost 26,000 jobs" pic.twitter.com/GuWziaQtjZ
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) October 8, 2021
Furthermore, according to an August poll by the job-search website Indeed, the percentage of unemployed people who stated they wanted to find work once the school year started doubled from only two months before.
However, there are indicators that it may be premature to anticipate a flood of parents to return to work. COVID-19 breakouts in late September forced 2,000 schools in 39 states to shut for an average of 6.4 days, according to Lael Brainard, a representative of the federal governing board.
Several expanded unemployment insurance programs (including a $300-per-week federal bonus and initiatives that included gig workers and people who were unemployed for six months or longer) expired in early September.
So far, it appears that the elimination of such programs has had only a small impact on the number of persons looking for jobs.
