April jobs report surprise: Is this a labor shortage or a great reassessment of work in America?

May 11, 2021 ☼ economylabor

Source: The Washington Post - Link

A Pew Research Center survey this year found that 66 percent of the unemployed had “seriously considered” changing their field of work, a far greater percentage than during the Great Recession. People who used to work in restaurants or travel are finding higher-paying jobs in warehouses or real estate, for example. Or they want a job that is more stable and less likely to be exposed to the coronavirus — or any other deadly virus down the road. Consider that grocery stores shed over 49,000 workers in April and nursing care facilities lost nearly 20,000.

The effect of government assistance can’t be ignored. It certainly makes sense that it would contribute to folks not taking the first job that comes along. However, it is easy to overstate its effect. I believe that are a lot of folks willing to reassess and look for the job that has some future in it.