U.S Job Growth Declines Again; Slowest Hiring in 2021

Latest reports show U.S job growth fell to its lowest this year with only 194,000 new jobs added in September. The Growing Delta Variant and shortage of workers have slowed down the economic recovery.

Many people are seen leaving the labor force and giving up on finding a new job. Even though the hiring process has slowed down, there still aren’t enough available labor to fill in new positions. Reports show that unemployment fell from 4.8% to 5.2% in August.

Economists are saying that households have increased spending on goods and services, meaning demand is strong. However, businesses are finding it difficult to find staff which indicates a downfall of supply. The shortage of workers has been reported in not only the US, but in other nations too including the U.K.

U.S economist at Capital Economics, Michael Pearce said, “This was the time when a lot of people were expecting labor shortages to be getting better but in fact they’re getting worse. This is a pretty worrying situation.” The released report on U.S unemployment managed to show its effects on U.S stocks with Dow Jones Industrial falling 8.69 and S&P sliding down by 8.42 points.

Earlier this year, a slight rise in jobs was recorded as vaccination grew and temporary closures were lifted, allowing people to go back out to work and conduct business. However, the latest string of Delta Variant infections has pulled away at the growth. On the other hand, it has been noted that additional factors may have also contributed to the fall, such as early retirement, shortage of child-care workers and people who refused vaccination to needed for work requirements.