Biden’s huge economic challenge: bringing 10 million people back to work

(Reuters) – President Joe Biden on Friday called for more fiscal support to address one of the biggest challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic – how to bring millions of unemployed Americans back to work.

The labor market regained minor ground in January, when the economy added 49,000 jobs, according to a report released Friday by the Department of Labor. However, the report showed that the growth of the labor market stops, doing little to close the huge gap created by the pandemic.

“At this rate, it will take 10 years for us to reach full employment,” Biden said at the White House on Friday morning.

About half of the 22 million jobs lost at the height of the pandemic have been recovered. But this still leaves a hole of about 10 million jobs, disproportionately held by women and minorities in low-wage roles.

Jared Bernstein, a member of the White House Council of Economic Advisers, highlighted a rise in long-term unemployment and the disproportionate effects of the pandemic on women and black workers, while stressing the importance of action soon.

“Today’s report (employment) is another reminder that our economy continues to climb a deeper hole than the Great Recession and needs further relief,” Bernstein said in a briefing. press Friday at the White House.

Here’s a look at people who may need the most help as the economy heals:

MINORITIES HAVE REACHED THE HARDEST

As the economy reopened last year from large-scale shutdowns, many office workers have adapted to remote work and other industries have called on people to return to work.

But many black, Hispanic, and Asian workers who have been overrepresented in pandemic-affected low-wage occupations are still unemployed, such as servants, bartenders, cooks and housekeepers.

The overall unemployment rate fell to 6.3% in January. But within this rate, there are huge racial disparities – over 9% of black workers are unemployed, compared to less than 6% of white workers:

Graph: racial disparities widen Racial disparities widen –

WOMEN EMPERORS

Before the pandemic, the share of women working or looking for work was growing, due to record economic expansion.

The crisis has reversed these gains, in part because the closure of schools and childcare centers has left mothers working with a weaker support system.

About 2.5 million women lost their jobs during the pandemic, compared to 1.8 million men, according to the Department of Labor.

Graphics: Women leaving the workforce Women leaving the workforce –

Biden says he wants to help more women return to work through policies that reopen schools safely and make childcare more accessible.

SECTOR BY SECTOR

Companies that rely on travel or people who spend time close to each other inside have returned the slowest. Many people who have made a living by equipping kitchens, mixing drinks or cleaning hotel rooms are still out of work.

Employment and hospitality fell by 23% in January from pre-pandemic levels in February 2020, more than any other industry.

Graphics: patchwork recovery: jobs by industry –

Economists expect many of these jobs to return after coronavirus vaccines are widely distributed and consumers feel more comfortable spending money in restaurants, bars and other entertainment venues. But it is unclear whether employment will return completely to previous levels.

LONG-TERM UNEMPLOYMENT

Job searches have expanded for some people, including many in the leisure and hospitality industry.

The “long-term unemployed” or those who have been out of work for at least six months now account for about 40% of the total unemployed, or about 4 million people, up from about 20% before the pandemic.

Research shows that long-term unemployed people may find it harder to find new jobs, putting them at greater risk of facing pay cuts or leaving the labor market.

Chart: longer periods of unemployment –

Biden wants to create federally subsidized jobs in health, clean energy and other areas that could help the long-term unemployed move into new roles.

FOR THE MAP

Designing federal policies to help with unemployment can be particularly difficult, as job losses vary widely from state to state.

Employment in Idaho, Utah and Kansas returned to pre-pandemic levels by December. But the situation was worse in New York and in Nevada and Hawaii, dependent on tourism.

This could lead to major disagreements among parliamentarians about how much help is needed to take care of the economy and the labor market back to health.

Graphics: Patchwork Recovery: State Jobs –