While the short-term economic prospects are very unpredictable and dependent on the pandemic’s course, it is apparent that numerous long-term labor market shifts are already underway. Rather than speculating on whether the labor market will fully recover, one should consider how the epidemic has sparked or expedited labor market changes. Workplace flexibility, the use of data analytics in recruiting, job transformations, and increased hourly earnings in low-wage employment are the main trends (Röper). The pandemic’s most significant influence on employment is certainly the quick and broad acceptance of telecommuting, and the current open question for employers is how flexible it is to maintain a job once employees return to the workplace.
Between 1948 and 2021, the unemployment rate in the United States averaged 5.77 percent, with a peak of 14.80 percent in April 2020 and a low of 2.5 percent in the 1950s (U.S. BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS). The most significant increase in employment occurred during the commencement of the pandemic, from March to April 2020, when it reached over 15%. Despite the continuing epidemic and the Delta variation, the employment environment has improved in recent months. The unemployment rate is gradually decreasing (5.9 percent from May 2021 and 4.8 percent in September 2021). In 2020, the figures were 11.1 (May) and 7.8 (June) (September) (U.S. BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS). The main relationship between unemployment and GDP is as follows: a 2% rise in unemployment produces a 2% decrease in GDP. At the same time, employment will continue to rise as long as real gross domestic product growth outpaces labor productivity growth.
The coronavirus pandemic, which began in February 2020, has wreaked havoc on the American job market, pushing unemployment to near-all-time highs and putting millions of Americans out of work. Although a full recovery of the labor market is still a long way off, it has been noticed that the new trend offered by new labor market trends may help to reduce the pandemic’s impact.
Works Cited
U.S. BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS. United States Department of Labor, 2021, Web.
Röper Lisa. “COVID Has Accelerated These 4 Labor Market Trends”. KelloggInsight, 2021, Web.