For the second week in a row, initial jobless claims dropped, according to the US Labor Department. This comes as anxieties around rising COVID-19 Delta variant cases continue to build. Of course, jobless claims are only a single metric. It means that unemployed individuals have consciously made the decision to file for unemployment with their states. This doesn’t take into account people who have left the workforce altogether, or those who are facing the possibility of caring for children and elderly family as the threat of further lockdowns looms. In fact, Labor Market participation still has yet to rebound to pre-pandemic levels despite rising wages and inflationary concerns. Some opponents will peg this on stimulus checks and unemployment benefits incentivizing people from seeking work. But perhaps there are some other societal shifts at play here. It’s worth noting that Labor participation hasn’t been above 65% since the early Obama years. Perhaps an aging population is exiting the workforce right when policymakers want to trumpet economic recovery.
