The recently issued podcast “Not a great jobs report. Should we have seen it coming?” by Marketplace (2021) discusses employment problems in the United States. In the beginning, the anchor notes that 235 thousand new jobs were created in August, according to the Department of Labor, which reduced the overall unemployment rate from 5.4% to 5.2%. However, the analysis of employment based on race revealed that for African Americans, the number increased during the same period from 8.2% to 8.8%. In my opinion, such a trend shows that there is still discrimination in the labor market; thus, policymakers should concentrate on resolving this issue through financial and legal means.
Moreover, the statistics showed that 90% of 235 thousand new workers were men and only 10% were women. In this regard, the experts suggest that one of the reasons for that may be fewer daycare services available now, which makes parents – primarily women – stay home with children. Furthermore, it was mentioned that while the food industry experience a reduction in workers, such places as amusement parks and casinos hired many new employees. I think the main reason for that is not COVID-19, as it may seem at first glance, but low average wage rates in the restaurant industry. Finally, the experts noticed that the overall wage rate is growing.
Among all the topics mentioned above, the most important one from the macroeconomics perspective is salaried growth. That trend may potentially lead to the growth in the inflation rate as more significant wages imply increased costs for employers and, consequently, causes the prices to rise. Interestingly, according to the classic macroeconomic theories, the coexistence of high unemployment rates and surging salaries is strange. However, such a condition is explained by substantial unemployment benefits, which make people reluctant to return to work (Cox, 2021). Therefore, since such benefits are alleviated now, it is unlikely that the wages would continue growing, although there probably would be some period of adaptation.
Based on what was discussed above, I think the government may organize tax breaks for childcare centers to increase their workers’ salaries. Alternatively, the government can provide subsidies for unemployed parents to cover the expenses of daycare centers. Such a policy should lead to a further decrease in unemployment.
References
Cox, J. (2021). Wages are finally going up and that’s going to have to continue to get people back to work. CNBC. Web.
Marketplace. (2021). Not a great job report. Should we have seen it coming? NPR. Web.