Biden’s immense economic challenge: putting 10 million people back to work

(Reuters) – President Joe Biden on Friday urged more fiscal aid to address one of the biggest challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic: how to get millions of unemployed Americans back to work.

The labor market gained some less ground in January as the economy added 49,000 jobs, according to a report released by the Labor Department on Friday. But the report showed that labor market growth is stagnating and is doing little to close the huge gap created by the pandemic.

“At that rate, it will be 10 years before we have full employment,” Biden said from the White House Friday morning.

About half of the 22 million jobs lost at the height of the pandemic have been recouped. But that still leaves a gap of about 10 million jobs, of which a disproportionate number of jobs are taken by women and minorities in low-wages.

Jared Bernstein, a member of the White House Council of Economic Advisers, pointed to a rise in long-term unemployment and the disproportionate impact of the pandemic on women and colored workers, while stressing the importance of acting quickly.

“Today’s (employment) report reminds us that our economy is still climbing from a deeper hole than that of the Great Recession and needs additional relief,” Bernstein said during a White House newsletter on Friday.

Here’s a look at the people who may need the most help as the economy heals:

MINORITIES HIT THE HARDEST

When the economy reopened last year after widespread shutdowns, many office workers turned to working remotely and other industries were calling people back to their jobs.

But many black, Hispanic and Asian workers who were over-represented in the low-wage professions most affected by the pandemic are still unemployed, such as servants, bartenders, cooks and housekeepers.

The overall unemployment rate fell to 6.3% in January. But within that percentage are huge racial inequalities – more than 9% of black workers are unemployed, versus less than 6% of white workers:

Graphics card: Racial inequality getting bigger Racial inequality getting bigger –

WOMEN PUSHED

Before the pandemic, the proportion of employed or job-seeking women rose thanks to record-long economic expansion.

The crisis reversed those gains, in part because the closure of schools and daycare centers left working mothers a weaker support system.

According to Labor Department data, about 2.5 million women fell out of the labor force during the pandemic, compared to 1.8 million men.

Graph: Women leaving the workforce Women leaving the workforce –

Biden says he wants to help more women return to work through policies that safely reopen schools and make childcare more affordable.

SECTOR BY SECTOR

Businesses that rely on travel or people who spend time indoors close together have recovered the slowest. Many people who made a living manning kitchens, mixing drinks or cleaning hotel rooms are still out of work.

Leisure and hospitality employment fell 23% in January from its pre-pandemic levels in February 2020, more than any other industry.

Graphics: The patchwork recovery: Jobs by industry –

Economists expect many of those jobs to return after coronavirus vaccines are widely distributed and consumers feel more comfortable spending money in restaurants, bars and other entertainment venues. But it is not clear whether employment will return fully to the previous level.

LONG-TERM UNEMPLOYED

The job search is extensive for some people, including many in the leisure and hospitality industries.

The “long-term unemployed”, or those who have been unemployed for at least six months, now make up about 40% of the total unemployed, or about 4 million people, compared to about 20% before the pandemic.

Research shows that the long-term unemployed may have a harder time finding a new job, putting them at greater risk of wage cuts or job losses.

Graphics card: Longer periods of unemployment –

Biden wants to create federally subsidized jobs in healthcare, clean energy and other areas that can help the long-term unemployed get into new roles.

ABOUT THE MAP

Designing federal policies to help those out of work can be especially challenging because job losses vary widely from one state to another.

Employment in Idaho, Utah and Kansas had fully recovered to pre-pandemic levels by December. But the situation was worse in New York and the tourist-dependent Nevada and Hawaii.

This could lead to widespread disagreements among lawmakers about how much more aid is needed to restore the economy and the labor market to health.

Graphics: The patchwork recovery: Jobs by state –