The US economy created just 266,000 jobs in April, a sharp slowdown and disappointment compared to nearly a million new paychecks expected on the eve. The hiring engine was in the hospitality and leisure sector. The unemployment rate rose slightly to 6.1% from 6% in March, while partly reflecting an increase in the workforce.
The average forecasts of the eve assumed, to be exact, an increase of 978,000 jobs, with the most optimistic going so far as to forecast up to 2.1 million new jobs. The difference between the places created and the predictions has been the biggest for perhaps 23 years. The figure now raises questions about the speed and ease of recovery from the wounds left by the pandemic crisis in one of the even weaker links in the recovery from the Covid crisis, the occupation. It can reflect factors such as the difficulties companies are actually facing today in finding staff quickly and the recent setbacks suffered by supply chains that hindered production in numerous industries. But it also gives credit to the plans of the Federal Reserve and the government to insist on aid and stimulus measures. Wages rose and Wall Street reacted nervously to the statistic, initially pushing stock index futures lower. However, indices gained ground at the start of trade despite disappointment over employment.
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Over 8 million places are still in hiding
The job market still lacks 8.2 million jobs to return to pre-pandemic levels, even though 21 million paychecks had disappeared at the height of the pandemic and lockdown. However, another 4 million Americans have dropped out of the workforce, meaning they are not even actively seeking employment and thus remain on the sidelines of the statistics. In all, some 10 million Americans are classified as jobless. About 16 million Americans still use unemployment benefits.
New places in catering, services, public employment
The Department of Labor has emphasized the creation of jobs in catering, more generally in services, and in the public sector. Hospitality and free time generated 331,000 jobs. There were 31,000 new posts in public education and federal government jobs jumped by 9,000. The manufacturing sector, on the other hand, lost a total of 18,000 seats, with the auto sector, hit by a shortage of parts and microchips, down by 27,000. Retail sold 15,000 seats.
Rising wages
Average wages showed an increase of 21 cents to $ 30.17 an hour. “The growing demand for labor linked to the recovery from the pandemic may have generated upward pressure on wages,” the Department of Labor said. The cost of labor is under particular observation for signs of inflationary pressures, alongside increases in the prices of raw materials. According to some observers, if confirmed, it could force the Federal Reserve to change course and accelerate tightening of monetary policy that so far it considers distant.