New data shows that US job growth in November has declined but at the same time the unemployment rate has also arrived at the minimum level in the country. At first glance, the American labor market looks in distress although the details show that it’s on the path of recovery instead. This complex picture has disappointed yet puzzled many economists.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the government’s fact-finding agency, last month American employers added about 210,000 jobs. This figure did not meet the expectations and in fact, it’s the lowest number of jobs added since the pandemic surge of December last year. In contrast to November data, the October data revealed the creation of around 546,000 jobs. Many economists were anticipating dual growth in November. Some wanted US non-farm payrolls to go higher by 550,000. However, the reality is not much far from expectation.
The unemployment rate did see a sharp 4.2 percent drop in November which was 4.6 percent in October. It implies that a lot of Americans have been employed and the labor market condition is surely stabilizing. According to President Joe Biden, the present recovery rate is very strong even after disappointing job growth figures. He further added, “Today’s historic drop in unemployment rate includes dramatic improvements for workers”.
In November, employers may have contributed a smaller number of jobs but these jobs were steadier. The wages have been raised in many sectors whereas a lot of employers are even giving additional benefits to workers to excite a scarce labor force. As per Economic Policy Institute, US-based research and analysis institute, the current situation is putting the country on track for a complete recovery by the end of 2022.
It must be noted that this data has not taken the newly surfaced Omicron variant of COVID-19 into account since the tally was finalized before Omicron was detected. There are possibilities that Omicron may affect the present recovery rate of the employment calls.