The U.S. economy is sparking confusion and whiplash almost as fast as it’s adding jobs.
WASHINGTON — The U.S. economy is sparking confusion and whiplash almost as fast as it’s adding jobs. Barely more than a year after the coronavirus caused the steepest economic fall and job losses on record, the speed of the rebound has been so unexpectedly swift that many companies can’t fill jobs or acquire enough supplies to meet a pent-up burst of customer demand. Economic forecasters, with little historical precedent to guide them through the aftermath of a global pandemic, are pondering questions they can’t answer with any confidence. The full portrait of the U.S. economy is a rather more nuanced one. Here is a closer look at five vital signs: JOBS Employers last month added 559,000 jobs on top of 278,000 in April. Those would ordinarily be seen as quite healthy numbers. Yet against the backdrop of record-high job openings and free-spending consumers, forecasters had expected much more hiring. Some economists had envisioned the recovery from the pandemic recession driving monthly job growth of 800,000,900,000, even 1 million or more. What explains the shortfall? Economists point mainly to what they call a short-term mismatch: Companies are posting job openings faster than applicants can respond. After all, many Americans are contending with considerable tumult at home — health issues related to COVID-19, child-care problems with schools slow to reopen, career uncertainty after many jobs permanently vanished over the past 15 months. And some people, earning more from federal and state jobless aid than they did when they worked, are taking their time before pursuing another job. Some say the labor shortage is nothing that can’t be solved the old-fashioned way: By raising pay and offering more generous benefits and working conditions.
