Millions who retired early during pandemic now returning to work, new data shows
In some cases, workers say rising costs—and the inability to keep up while on a fixed income—are factoring heavily into their decisions.
In some cases, workers say rising costs—and the inability to keep up while on a fixed income—are factoring heavily into their decisions.
Employers posted 11.5 million job openings in March, more evidence of a tight labor market that has emboldened millions of American workers to seek better paying jobs and contributed to the biggest surge in inflation in four decades.
As the Federal Reserve sees it, the surge in job postings forces employers to boost wages to attract and keep workers. Those higher labor costs are then passed to customers in the form of higher prices, thereby helping fuel inflation.
About 1.42 million Americans were collecting traditional unemployment benefits in the week of April 9, the smallest number since Feb. 21, 1970.
An estimated 71,904 Hoosiers are currently unemployed and seeking jobs, the state reported. That’s down from 88,240 in December and 100,696 in November.
Jobless claims rose by 18,000, to 185,000, the Labor Department said Thursday, after nearly touching the lowest level since 1968 in the previous week.
The government’s report Friday showed that last month’s job growth helped shrink the unemployment rate to 3.6%. That’s the lowest rate since the pandemic erupted two years ago and just above the half-century low of 3.5% that was reached two years ago.
In total, 1,350,000 Americans were collecting jobless aid the week that ended March 12, another five-decade low.
U.S. businesses posted a near-record level of open jobs in January—11.3 million—a trend has helped pad workers’ pay and added to inflationary pressures.
However, the state’s labor force participation remains at 61.9%—a record low for at least the last 45 years if one doesn’t count its sudden fall to 60.8% and quick recovery in the first three months of the pandemic.
Wednesday’s report underscores the distorted nature of the job market after two years of the pandemic. There are 1.7 available jobs for every unemployed worker, which has led to widespread complaints among businesses about worker shortages.
The Labor Department’s report Friday also showed that the unemployment rate dropped from 4% to a low 3.8%, extending a sharp decline in joblessness as the economy has rebounded from the pandemic recession.
Jobless claims fell by 18,000, to 215,000, for the week ending Feb. 26, from 233,000 the previous week, the Labor Department reported Thursday.
A winter spike in coronavirus infections briefly tripped up the country’s rebound from 2020′s virus-caused recession, but employers appear confident in long-term growth and are eager to hire.
In total, fewer than 1.6 million Americans were collecting jobless aid the week that ended Feb. 5, a decrease of about 26,000 from the previous week.
The four-week average for claims, which compensates for weekly volatility, declined by 2,000, to 253,250, after rising for five straight weeks as the omicron variant of the coronavirus spread, disrupting business in many parts of the U.S.
The government’s report Friday also drastically revised up its estimate of job gains for November and December by a combined 709,000.
The latest government figures show that the surprisingly strong labor market last month extended to parts of the workforce that usually take longer to draw in.
After three consecutive weeks of unemployment claims that appeared to rise in tandem with omicron, fewer Americans applied for unemployment benefits for the second week in a row.
About 4.3 million people quit their jobs in December, down from a record of 4.5 million in November. Still, far more Americans are leaving their jobs than before the pandemic.