Economic Indicator — The U.S. Unemployment Rate During Pandemic
As a first-generation American citizen, the U.S. unemployment rate has always been relevant to my family and many other immigrants. The unemployment rate indicates the share of workers that are looking for work and cannot find it. A low unemployment rate shows that the labor force can find work as the economy expands. Often, other challenges prevent the unemployed from finding work. These include language barriers, disabilities, and knowledge gaps within minority groups. Ip’s text clarifies that it is difficult to differentiate between those who cannot find work and those who do not possess the desired skills for the job. The complexities of unemployment were exacerbated this past year during the pandemic. According to The Wall Street Journal, the unemployment rate has fallen to 5.4%, the lowest since the pandemic. By July 2021, job applications were up 17% from June due to the expiration of unemployment aid in many states. Over the summer, many businesses increased their wages and benefits to attract workers; however, minority groups still struggle to find work.
The graph shows that the unemployment rate remains higher amongst Black and Hispanic groups despite job growth. At the height of the pandemic, the unemployment rate nearly tripled for all racial groups. However, the re-employment gap demonstrates a slower recovery rate amongst Blacks and Hispanics, especially those who are less educated. In 2019, Hispanics made up 18% of the U.S. workforce and 28% of food preparation workers. Thus, this large scale unemployment of minority groups can damage the economy in the future, especially if they cannot return to work.
The graphs illustrate the groups that are disproportionately affected by the pandemic. The high unemployment rate can suggest that many nonmanagerial industry jobs such as manufacturing have automated their processes with machines. The pandemic caused businesses to restructure their operational processes, by adding more devices and artificial intelligence to reduce costs, which replaced workers. Additionally, unemployment increased from 5% to 20% from March to December of 2020 for those Americans with less than a high school degree who often work in the leisure and hospitality industry. Overall, workers with less education saw higher levels of unemployment during the pandemic. Teenagers also saw high levels of unemployment that increased from 14% to 32% at the height of the pandemic. Post pandemic, it is critical to invest in youth and minority groups to ensure that they can effectively and confidently enrich the economy in the future years.
Sources:
https://www.wsj.com/articles/july-jobs-report-unemployment-rate-2021-11628196413
