Jobs report shows ‘long way to go in economic recovery’
Disappointing unemployment figures for April show importance of relief package, Biden says
President Joe Biden has said there was a “long way to go” before the United States economy recovers from a pandemic-spurred slump, and urged Washington to do more to help the American people after a disappointing jobs report.
American job growth unexpectedly slowed in April, likely restrained by shortages of workers and raw materials. Non-farm payrolls increased by only 266,000 jobs last month. Economists had expected nearly a million jobs to be added.
Biden and his team have said his US$1.9 trillion pandemic relief package, the Democratic president’s first major legislative accomplishment, is helping to bring the economy back from its pandemic plummet.
“Today’s report just underscores in my view how vital the actions we’re taking are,” Biden said at the White House. “Our efforts are starting to work. But the climb is steep and we still have a long way to go.”
The White House is pressing for trillions of dollars more in spending on infrastructure, education and other priorities.
Republicans, however, object to the high price tag of Biden’s initiatives and critics have raised concerns about inflation and a disincentive, thanks to generous unemployment benefits, for people to return to the workforce.
The White House dismissed that criticism on Friday. Biden said he had not seen evidence that enhanced unemployment benefits were putting a drag on employment figures.
“It’s clear that there are people who are not ready and able to go back into the labour force,” Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said, citing parents whose children have different return-toschool schedules. “I don’t think the addition to unemployment compensation is really the factor that is making a difference.”
Jared Bernstein, a member of the president’s Council of Economic Advisers, said Biden’s Covid-19 relief and stimulus package, known as the American Rescue Plan, had helped generate an average of more than half a million jobs per month over the last three months, April notwithstanding.
Bernstein said no course correction was required from the White House, a theme echoed by Nancy Pelosi, the Democratic speaker of the House of Representatives, who pressed for passage of Biden’s next legislative push.
“The disappointing April jobs report highlights the urgent need to pass President Biden’s American Jobs and Families Plans,” she said in a statement.
Republicans viewed differently.
“Why is anyone surprised that the jobs reports fell short of expectations?,” said Republican Senator Marco Rubio of Florida on Twitter. “I told you weeks ago that in #Florida I hear from #smallbusinesses every day that they can’t hire people because the government is having them not go back to work.”