The economy added 678,000 jobs in February, the largest one-month gain since March 2021, lowering the unemployment rate to 3.8 percent and nearing pre-Covid employment level of 3.5 percent, when 5.7 million people were unemployed. In February, 6.3 million were unemployed. The economy still has 2.1 million jobs to recover before matching pre-covid employment, however.
The job gains continue to robust run of economic expansion over the past year, with the covid pandemic appearing not to have hampered hiring. The economy has added 7.9 million jobs since January 2021, when President Biden’s term began. A caveat: the data pre-dates Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which is expected to damage the world economy, primarily by causing a sharp increase in already higher energy prices. Crude oil prices were around $90 a barrel before the invasion. Today the price is around $111 a barrel. Gas prices are rising, changing the driving habits of Floridians.
Employment gains last month spread across all sectors, with strong gains in leisure and hospitality (179,000 jobs), professional and business services (95,000), health care (64,000), and construction (60,000). Retail added 37,000 jobs and manufacturing 36,000. But–contrasting with inflation figures–average hourly earnings for all employees rose by just a penny, to $31.58, after increasing by 5.1 percent over the past 12 months.
The civilian labor force has improved to 62.3 percent from 61.5 percent over the year, with 164 million workers in the labor force, up from 160.4 million a year ago (when 10 million people were unemployed). Still, nearly 100 million people are not in the labor force–children, the retired, the disabled, and people who have chosen to drop out of the labor force altogether. Teenagers 16 to 19 have the highest unemployment rate, at 10.3 percent, followed by Blacks (6.6), Hispanics (4.4), and whites (3.3). People with a bachelor’s degree have the lowest unemployment rate as a group: 2.2 percent.
Those figures are based on the Labor Department’s traditional way of calculating unemployment. The figures downplay actual unemployment and under-employment. The Bureau of Labor Statistics provides the so-called U-6, alternative measure of employment, which includes those who have dropped out of the labor force or those who are working part-time because they’re unable to find full-time work–but need full-time work. That rate combined is 7.2 percent. It is nevertheless a substantial improvement over the 11.6 percent rate of a year ago. In Florida, the rate is 8.7 percent.
Among the under-employed, 4.1 million people were working part-time for lack of full-time work (down from 6.1 million a year ago), wither because of slack business conditions or because they couldn’t find full-time work. In the workforce as a whole, 20.7 million people are working part-time by choice, up from 18.5 million a year ago.
But job openings are at a record high, with nearly 11 million posted openings, or 1.7 openings for every worker seeking work.
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Deborah Coffey says
“…because of slack business conditions or because they couldn’t find full-time work.” Or, because unemployed women can’t find affordable child care.
Alonzo says
Good job, show the Repubs, you are better than they think you are. Alright Joe & Dems yall need to do some thing about inflation. Yall got to figure something out. Yall got to figure how to decrease gas prices. You did great with covid, do better with inflation. You can do it Joe, I believe in you. Some Repubs said you would not last for 6 months, it is over a year. I love when Repubs are wrong especially white male Repubs, I love it. Dems we got to do something or get ready for a wash out from the Repubs, come Nov. Regardless of what happens I will vote Dem.