Bureau of Labor Statistics
that the economy added 559,000 jobs in May, with the unemployment rate at 5.8 percent.
Of the 7.6 million jobs that remain lost from the pandemic, close to 2.5 million are in the Le
isure and Hospitality industry, which includes restaurants, hotels, and entertainment venues. The biggest challenge persists in people s willingness to return to work, as they receive equivalent to the industry s average wage, depending on the state, in unemployment benefits and the additional $300 federal stimulus. The challenge to find skilled and service workers remains a real threat to company growth and productivity. The difficulty of filling both white- and blue-collar roles creates hardships to keep up with demand across industries – inevitably impacting a full economic recovery in those sectors and the local areas in which they operate, says Jay Denton, chief analyst for ThinkWhy.
Government and Leisure & Hospitality industries post greatest job gains in April. Maintaining March s robust pace of job gain was going to be challenging at some point, but it was expected to be a few months away. We are seeing an earlier, more significant slowdown, said Jay Denton, chief analyst for ThinkWhy.
One year ago, the U.S. lost 20.7 million jobs in April 2020 alone, equivalent to 13.8% of total employment at that time. Combined with significant job loss in March 2020, the U.S. suddenly found itself with 22.4 million fewer jobs in the blink of an eye.
Fast forward a year, and the market had been on an upswing after 770,000 jobs were added in March, and unemployment insurance claims dropped during the month of April. Still, consumer confidence and GDP outlook continue to improve. Currently, the U.S. still has 8.2 million fewer jobs than before the pandemic. Given the BLS surveys during the first half of April, there is hope m