October 11, 2021- Friday's September jobs report from the Department of Labor proved to be very underwhelming as the report seemed to give very little optimism for the future of the economy.
The report showed that U.S employers added just 194,000 jobs in September. Hospitality and leisure lead the way for job creation adding 74,000 positions while government payrolls saw a 123,000 decline. Making this the second straight month with very little to no gain, and proving that the delta variant, along with the lack of motivation to work, continues to have a tight grip on our economy.
September's jobs report also showed that the unemployment rate sank last month from 5.2% to 4.8%. President Biden was optimistic in a speech regarding the report, saying, "Today’s report has the unemployment rate down to 4.8 percent, a significant improvement from when I took office and a sign that our recovery is moving forward even in the face of a COVID pandemic." However, President Biden failed to mention that while more people did find jobs in September, about 180,000 fewer people were looking for work, meaning they were not counted as unemployed.
There are some promising numbers in the jobs report, reflecting some hope in the U.S. economy. For starters, most industries added jobs last month, though at a reduced pace. Transportation and warehousing, boosted due to the high increase of online shopping, added 47,000 jobs. While hospitality and leisure gained 74,000 positions - more than in August, but far less than those added during the summer months. And manufacturers added 26,000 jobs. All encouraging signs.
The employment-to-population level increased to 58.7%, its highest since March 2020 and July’s already-strong gains were revised higher by 38,000 to 1.0913 million, while August’s big letdown also was revised up, to 366,000 from the initially reported 235,000.
With some silver linings to September's jobs report, President Biden continued to sound optimistic. "Today, we received more evidence of the progress we’re making. And I know we can make a lot more in the days ahead," he said.
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