U.S. Unemployment Rates Continue to Drop

Jacob Wozar
US News Writer

In the fall of 2021, we are continuing to not only see the social and medical ramifications of the Covid-19 Pandemic, but we are now seeing some more economic problems start to arise. That comes in the form of the United States overall unemployment rate continuing to plummet. According to Reuters, “The U.S. weekly jobless claims hit a 19-month low as the labor market continues to tighten”. This is a problem that is affecting the entire nation as prices on products are rising and stores are struggling to find workers to fill positions that are still left open from earlier stages of the pandemic. Jim Baird who is the chief investment officer at Plante Moran Financial Advisors in Michigan was quoted saying, “Hiring demands remain robust, and the short supply of potential workers should make employers think twice about cutting payrolls.”

There are a variety of factors that could be at the root of this problem, but one that many other news sources are pointing to is the wide range of aid that was given to the unemployed back in 2020. Tami Luhby of CNN said, “Lawmakers also created two other measures to aid the jobless when the coronavirus struck. The Pandemic Unemployment Assistance program provided payments for freelancers, the self-employed, independent contractors, and certain people affected by the outbreak, while the Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation program extended payments for those who exhausted their regular state benefits.” These benefits, which were crucial in helping workers who were laid off, are now starting to work conversely where workers are choosing to use the benefits instead of working.

All though, all of this may be coming to an end soon and we may see the unemployment rate start to climb back up. “The benefits’ expiration may indeed lead more people to accept jobs, but it will take time, experts said. Although there were a record 10.9 million job openings in July, the economic recovery had softened a bit in recent months as the latest surge in Covid-19 cases prompted consumers to pull back. Case counts, hospitalizations, and deaths are finally receding again.”. All of this means is that what will happen in the next few coming months will be very interesting to see the overarching direction of our employees as we move into another part of the pandemic. The unemployment rate is something that we should all keep our eye on and monitor to gauge the health of the nation.

Contact Jacob at jacob.wozar@student.shu.edu