Just a year ago, precautions intended to slow the spread of COVID-19 led U.S. employers to shed more than 20 million jobs — a historic …
Just a year ago, precautions intended to slow the spread of COVID-19 led U.S. employers to shed more than 20 million jobs — a historic decline in both size and speed. Friday’s jobs report added 266,000 to that total. The economy is still millions of jobs short of where it was in February 2020, but more than 14.1 million jobs have returned since the April 2020 low. While the April increase was much smaller than projected, other signs of economic growth abound. GDP grew by a robust 6.4% in the first quarter, retail sales jumped almost 10% in March and the S&P 500 has notched multiple record highs since August. The stock market isn’t the economy, but it’s where investors make bets on the economy. And changes in employment have generally trailed changes in the S&P 500 since 2000. Note that changes in the S&P 500 (below) charted on a scale 10 times larger than changes in non-farm employment. April Jobs Report: The economy added just 266,000 jobs in April even as states eased COVID restrictions and vaccinations rose What’s behind today’s lofty stock valuations might be expectations that consumers will spend some of the trillions of dollars in federal relief they’ve saved once vaccinations reach a critical mass and businesses fully reopen.
