![]() Still recovering from the Covid 19 economic shutdown, the nation’s job count posted a 428,000 gain last month, according to just-released figures from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Although the numbers are on the plus side, the BLS noted that the nation’s “unemployment rate remained at 3.6% in April, and the number of unemployed people was essentially unchanged at 5.9 million.” A steady increase in jobs across the country has been recorded by BLS since the spring of 2020, when some 22 million jobs were lost due to the pandemic. In February of 2020, the total job numbers stood at around 153 million, dramatically dropping to just over 130 million by summer. One year ago, the numbers were just shy of 145 million, reaching some 151 million in February of this year. Despite that steady increase, notes the BLS, the nation’s total employment count to date remains 1.2 million less than where it was the month before the Covid 19 outbreak. The latest numbers provide a snapshot of how the nation is recovering, according to the New York Times, which points out that the “labor supply has not kept up with a record wave of job openings as businesses expand to match consumers’ continued willingness to buy a variety of goods and services.” The publication added that there are now “1.9 job openings for every unemployed worker.” The Wall Street Journal characterized the latest numbers as “mildly encouraging since every major industry added workers. But the report also contains a warning that inflationary pressure may be starting to hurt the labor market.” In a statement, President Biden noted that there have been “only 3 months in the last fifty years where the unemployment rate in America is lower than it is now.” Biden added that the number of people collecting unemployment benefits has dropped from around 20 million in early 2021 to 1 million, which he said is “the lowest since 1970.” The construction industry recorded an increase of 2,000 new jobs in April, with an unemployment rate now of 4.6%. Total national construction employment stands at just over 7.6 million. A press release issued by the Associated General Contractors of America said that the demand for additional construction workers will “grow further as funds are awarded” through the big Infrastructure and Investment Jobs Act passed by Congress in November. By Garry Boulard
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