Original title: U.S. labor jobs fell by 7.6 million but the unemployment rate dropped and the epidemic suppressed employment growth
China News Service, June 6, According to Singapore’s Lianhe Zaobao, the U.S. economy continued to recover, and the unemployment rate in May fell to the lowest level since the outbreak. However, the current number of jobs in the US labor market is still 7.6 million fewer than before the epidemic, and also fewer than analysts expected. Analysts warned that despite the government’s large-scale stimulus measures, the coronavirus epidemic still complicates the prospects for recovery.
The May data released by the US Department of Labor on Friday showed that the unemployment rate fell from 6.1% in April to 5.8%, which was lower than 6% for the first time. The number of non-agricultural employment increased by 559,000, and most of the new jobs came from the leisure and hotel industries.
However, the current number of jobs in the US labor market is still 7.6 million fewer than before the epidemic, and also fewer than analysts expected. Analysts originally believed that the accelerated pace of vaccination in the United States would help the economy to rebound strongly. Economists interviewed by Reuters predict that there will be 650,000 new jobs in May.
Analysis: Issues related to the epidemic may curb employment growth
Farouki of the High Frequency Economic Company said that the latest employment report shows that even though the company resumes hiring, people still have not actively joined the employment team. She said: “The U.S. economy is no longer facing capacity constraints, but job growth has unexpectedly slowed. Issues related to the epidemic, such as childcare services and health concerns, may inhibit employment growth.”
Chris Lowe, chief economist at FHN Financial, also said: “There are still many people who are unemployed, but people do not seem to be eager to return to work. If employers can find more people who are willing to work, the number of hires will increase substantially.”
US President Biden admits that the road to economic recovery is bumpy, but he emphasized that the success of the Coronavirus vaccination and the economic stimulus bill he signed in March has contributed to the continuous growth of employment.
Biden also believes that the latest employment report is based on a week of data in early May, when only 35% of Americans completed the vaccination, which did not reflect the acceleration of economic activity after that.
He said: “We will encounter some twists and turns along the way. Restarting the world‘s largest economy is not as (simple) as pressing a light switch.”
In an interview with Bloomberg Television, the member of the White House Council of Economic Advisers Bush said: “We have always known that this will be a bumpy journey… If we analyze the trajectory of employment growth in the United States, today’s growth is more than the recovery from the 2007-2009 Great Recession , Much faster.”
Republicans approve federal unemployment benefits to make unemployed lose their motivation to work
The Republican Party criticized the Biden administration for two consecutive months of employment reports worse than economists’ expectations, claiming that huge government expenditures such as additional federal unemployment benefits have made the unemployed have no incentive to return to work.
Brady, a Republican member of the House Ways and Means Committee, said: “The employment growth forecast based on the catastrophic report in April has been lowered, but this is yet another lower-than-expected employment report.
He said: “The long-term unemployment rate is higher than before the COVID-19 outbreak, and the labor force participation is the same as it was in the 1970s.”
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