Unemployment

Unemployment 

Written by: Kaeden Osterman 

We all know that Covid was a big factor in people losing their jobs from January of 2020. That was the first case of Covid in the US. From there, Covid started spreading fast. All States were different when it came to reopening places to eat and shop etc. For instance, according to nbcnew.com, “Gov. Tony Evers directed the Dept. of Natural Resources to reopen 34 state parks and forests effective May 1. These include state parks and forests, hunting and fishing on open properties, boat launches in open state properties, and linear/rail trails. Strip-mall retail businesses reopened with a five customer limit on May 11.” This shows that in Wisconsin some things were able to reopen, but other places had limits. Which limits the staff in these places.

According to data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor “Statistics (BLS) Current Employment Statistics (CES) survey, nonfarm payroll employment in the United States declined by 9.4 million in 2020 The largest calendar-year decline in the history of the CES employment series.” This was from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. Covid took out around 54% of all jobs. Mostly in Leisure and Hospitality. 

This image shows the huge decline in employment. Starting from January of 2010 to Jan of 2020. Once that first came to America everything started going downhill from there. From January 2020 to April of 2020 9.4 million jobs were lost. 

Since Covid, unemployment has been a problem in the US. According to bloomberg.org, “the U.S. economy added a record 6.4 million jobs in 2021, rebounding strongly from unprecedented losses in the year prior due to the pandemic.” This shows that jobs are coming back for citizens in the US but doesn’t fully make a recovery. 9.4 million jobs were lost and 6.4 million were to only be brought back in 2021. That still leaves 3 million plus people unemployed. 

This chart is from the U.S. Bureau of Labor. This shows the percentages of unemployment going back to May of 2002. That spike in April of 2020 (23,038,000 people). Which is at a high of 14.7%. Then looking at January of 2022, it is at 4% (6,513,000). As of now, 6.5 million people are unemployed. When thinking about it, that is a lot. 

The US is doing good for any type of unemployment. With only 4% unemployment, when back in 2020 it was at 14.7%. Having a 10% decrease in unemployment is good for the economy. Because people have jobs they will be spending more helping the economy grow. Also, having above 3.5% unemployment helps keep the US economy stay efficient. Anything under 3.5% unemployment in the US economy would become inefficient. So it's good to have some unemployment but not a lot. 

In conclusion, where the US is right now with the unemployment rate is good. It can be surprising that it is at 4% when 2 years ago it was at 14.7%. Covid played a big role in making more than half the US go unemployed. But since then people have been able to get jobs and can provide for themselves/their families. 

Works Cited

Bloomberg.com, Bloomberg, www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-01-07/u-s-sees-record-job-growth-in-2021-after-millions-lost-in-2020.

“COVID-19 Ends Longest Employment Recovery and Expansion in CES History, Causing Unprecedented Job Losses in 2020 : Monthly Labor Review.” U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, www.bls.gov/opub/mlr/2021/article/covid-19-ends-longest-employment-expansion-in-ces-history.htm.

“Reopening America: All 50 States Have Begun to Reopen. See What That Means for Your State.” NBCNews.com, NBCUniversal News Group, 12 June 2020, www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/reopening-america-see-what-states-across-u-s-are-starting-n1195676.