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America's unemployed are sending a message: They'll go back to work when they feel safe ...
Economy
America’s unemployed are sending a message: They’ll go back to work when they feel safe – and well-compensated
September marked the weakest hiring this year, and an alarming number of women had to stop working again to deal with unstable school and child-care situations
By Heather Long
October 8, 2021 at 5:09 p.m. EDT
The anemic September employment report, with only 194,000 jobs added, illustrates the extent to which the recovery stalled as coronavirus cases surged last month, but it also signals something deeper: America’s unemployed are still struggling with child-care and health issues, and they are reluctant to return to jobs they see as unsafe or undercompensated.
For months, economists predicted a surge in hiring in September as unemployment benefits expired for millions of workers and schools reopened across the country. Instead, last month marked the weakest hiring this year, and an alarming number of women had to stop working again to deal with unstable school and child-care situations.
The numbers are striking: 309,000 women over age 20 dropped out of the labor force in September, meaning they quit work or halted their job searches. In contrast, 182,000 men joined the labor force, Labor Department data showed.
The simplest explanation for the mediocre jobs gains in September is the rapidly spreading delta variant of the coronavirus. It zapped a lot of momentum from the recovery as people in many parts of the country became more hesitant to eat out and travel. A mere 2,100 jobs were added in hotels and just 29,000 in restaurants.
The delta surge also torpedoed the reopening of public schools and the return to in-person learning. Schools repeatedly faced outbreaks and concerns from staff members, including many bus drivers, who were hesitant to go back to driving vehicles teeming with children, as those under 12 can’t be vaccinated.
[‘The struggle is real’: Why these Americans are still getting left behind in the recovery]
“It’s been so unpredictable. In-person school has not been reliable, and working moms had to balance that with trying to have a career,” said Alicia Sasser Modestino, an economics professor at Northeastern University. “My 9-year-old woke up with sniffles and could not go to school today. I am living this in real time.”
{snip}
By Heather Long
Heather Long is an economics correspondent. Before joining The Washington Post, she was a senior economics reporter at CNN and a columnist and deputy editor at the Patriot-News in Harrisburg, Pa. She also worked at an investment firm in London. Twitter https://twitter.com/byHeatherLong
America’s unemployed are sending a message: They’ll go back to work when they feel safe – and well-compensated
September marked the weakest hiring this year, and an alarming number of women had to stop working again to deal with unstable school and child-care situations
By Heather Long
October 8, 2021 at 5:09 p.m. EDT
The anemic September employment report, with only 194,000 jobs added, illustrates the extent to which the recovery stalled as coronavirus cases surged last month, but it also signals something deeper: America’s unemployed are still struggling with child-care and health issues, and they are reluctant to return to jobs they see as unsafe or undercompensated.
For months, economists predicted a surge in hiring in September as unemployment benefits expired for millions of workers and schools reopened across the country. Instead, last month marked the weakest hiring this year, and an alarming number of women had to stop working again to deal with unstable school and child-care situations.
The numbers are striking: 309,000 women over age 20 dropped out of the labor force in September, meaning they quit work or halted their job searches. In contrast, 182,000 men joined the labor force, Labor Department data showed.
The simplest explanation for the mediocre jobs gains in September is the rapidly spreading delta variant of the coronavirus. It zapped a lot of momentum from the recovery as people in many parts of the country became more hesitant to eat out and travel. A mere 2,100 jobs were added in hotels and just 29,000 in restaurants.
The delta surge also torpedoed the reopening of public schools and the return to in-person learning. Schools repeatedly faced outbreaks and concerns from staff members, including many bus drivers, who were hesitant to go back to driving vehicles teeming with children, as those under 12 can’t be vaccinated.
[‘The struggle is real’: Why these Americans are still getting left behind in the recovery]
“It’s been so unpredictable. In-person school has not been reliable, and working moms had to balance that with trying to have a career,” said Alicia Sasser Modestino, an economics professor at Northeastern University. “My 9-year-old woke up with sniffles and could not go to school today. I am living this in real time.”
{snip}
By Heather Long
Heather Long is an economics correspondent. Before joining The Washington Post, she was a senior economics reporter at CNN and a columnist and deputy editor at the Patriot-News in Harrisburg, Pa. She also worked at an investment firm in London. Twitter https://twitter.com/byHeatherLong
