Jobs Day
Takeaways
The worse-than-expected April jobs report can’t tell us everything
about the course of economic recovery to come: As Paul Krugman
wrote before the release of today’s numbers, “All
indications are that we’re headed for the fastest year of growth since
the ‘Morning in America’ boom of 1983–1984.”
That is likely still true, despite
today’s disappointment. But with this snapshot, we can draw two
conclusions.
1. We’re a long way off from full employment.
As
Roosevelt Fellow Darrick Hamilton told the Washington Post earlier this week, “The signs are, unemployment still remains
high, particularly among Black people, and wages still remain
flat.”
Confirmed. Ticking up to 6.1 percent, the unemployment
rate remains well
above the 3.5 percent rate of February 2020, and the economy is still
8.2 million jobs short of pre-pandemic levels. While the unemployment
rate for white people inched down to 5.3 percent, Black people
experienced a slight increase to 9.7 percent.
“I
think last month's [jobs] number, which was too high and revised down,
made people excited the story was ‘faster than ever recovery,’”
Roosevelt’s Mike Konczal tweeted. “When the data then, as it is now, was
that it's a slog to get out of this, with pre-COVID employment not
[expected to return] until [the] end of next year . . .”
2. Passing the American Jobs Plan and American Families
Plan is an urgent necessity.
For
economic, social, and moral reasons, waiting until the end of 2022 to
return to pre-pandemic employment shouldn’t be an option—particularly
when unemployment was still high among Black and brown people before
the pandemic.
We’re
likely to see higher employment and wages in the coming months,
certainly compared to this month’s numbers. But fears of “overheating”
are overblown; a booming economy and tight labor market can help
ensure that the workers most often left behind during recoveries can
find meaningful employment and livable pay.
And the
American
Jobs Plan and
American Families Plan are essential measures to create that kind of
growth with overdue investments in our infrastructure and in our
people.
Next
week, watch this space for new American Families Plan analysis from
Roosevelt’s Emily DiVito.
The Impact of Private Equity on
Nursing Home Care
Almost one-third
of COVID-19 deaths in the US have been linked to nursing homes, and
studies have found that the outcomes were even worse in nursing homes
owned by private equity firms, where infection and
death
rates were higher and there was less
personal
protective
equipment.
“The COVID-19 pandemic has
spotlighted how we as a nation have failed vulnerable patients in
nursing homes,” writes Melea Atkins in a new Roosevelt
issue
brief detailing
the strategies private equity firms use to prioritize profits over
care in nursing homes.
“A lack of regulation and oversight
has allowed private equity funds to profit from taxpayer dollars while
endangering the elderly and infirm. It is critical that policymakers
take decisive action to protect vulnerable patients from companies
whose first priority is quick, outsized profits.”
Read
more in a
MarketWatch exclusive on the brief.
