Highlights from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) employment / unemployment report for April released on May 7th.
- Unadjusted U-3 was Down from 6.2% to 5.7%
- Adjusted U-3 was Up from 6.0% to 6.1%
- Unadjusted U-6 was Down from 10.9% to 9.9%
- Labor Force Participation rose from 61.5% to 61.7%
- Unadjusted Employment rose from 143.309 million to 144.398
MSN classified this unemployment report as “disappointing” and the “greatest test yet of President Biden’s strategy to revive the pandemic economic recovery“.
There has been speculation that expanded unemployment benefits are making people reluctant to renter the labor market since generous unemployment benefits are more than they earn at minimum wage jobs. To counteract this, states like Montana are canceling Federal COVID unemployment benefits in an effort to encourage people to go back to work.
According to CNBC: “Montana opts to end $300 unemployment boost. Other states may, too.”
- Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte, a Republican, is ending participation in federal programs that expanded and raised unemployment benefits on June 27.
- The American Rescue Plan, a $1.9 trillion Covid relief bill President Joe Biden signed in March, offered them through Labor Day.
- Gianforte is instead offering a $1,200 return-to-work bonus to address a labor shortage. Some experts question the move.
Buried in the middle of the article is this quote:
“Montana is turning down expanded federal benefits to address a “severe workforce shortage,” Gianforte said. The state’s labor force is 10,000 workers smaller than before the pandemic and its 3.8% unemployment rate is near pre-Covid lows.
So despite the fact that “Some ‘experts’ question the move” unemployment levels are not “disappointing” in Montana at least, in fact, quite the opposite… they are having trouble finding workers.
[Read more…] about April Unemployment Report “Disappointing”