The latest jobs numbers are very interesting. Dean Baker reports:
The economy added 467,000 jobs in January, in spite of the spread of the omicron virus. Even pandemic sensitive sectors like hotels and restaurants were big job gainers. It appears that employers’ main response was to reduce hours, with the average workweek falling by 0.2 hours, a decline of 0.6 percent. The unemployment rate was little changed at 4.0 percent.
Revisions Change Our View of the Economy
The annual benchmark revisions, which include different seasonal adjustment factors, give a radically different view of the economy in 2021. With the revisions, job growth in November and December was revised up by 709,000 to show a two-month gain of 1,157,000. By contrast, job growth in June and July was revised down by 807,000, so that these months now show a total gain of 1,246,000.
The new data indicate that job growth was far stronger at the end of 2021 than previously thought, while somewhat less rapid for the summer months. For the year the revisions added 217,000 jobs, putting the 2021 total gain at 6,665,000 jobs. Job loss in 2020 now stands at 9,292,000. We’re now 2.9 million jobs below pre-pandemic level.
Wage Growth is Still Very Rapid
There is little evidence in this report that wage growth is slowing. Comparing the last three months (Nov-Jan) with the prior three (Aug-Oct), overall private sector wages rose at a 6.5 percent annual rate, up somewhat from the 5.7 percent rate over the last year. Wages in retail grow at a 5.8 percent annual rate up from a 5.4 percent rate over the last year. Wage growth in restaurants did slow somewhat, rising at a 10.6 percent rate compared to a 13.0 percent rate over the last year.
So, the perception that the economy is slowing down is BS, it’s actually gaining steam, even during Omicron. People are working and their wages are rising.
Please explain to me how that translates into a locked down country where everyone is restricted so we must be allowed to “go back to normal” right this minute? It sure seems as if everyone is working and that includes at restaurants and hotels.
I guess Americans just don’t want to wear masks (or see other people wearing masks) and they don’t want to hear any more about the pandemic. That’s really all that’s happening right now. Well, except for all the sickness and death (and the collapsing health care system) but I think everyone’s done caring about that.
Update — Lol: