U.S. non-agricultural job growth in April was much weaker than expected, analysts believe that the Biden administration’s overly generous unemployment benefits or the main cause, resulting in labor shortages, coupled with the rising cost of raw materials, affecting the production capacity of enterprises.
The U.S. Department of Labor announced earlier on Friday (7) that non-agricultural jobs increased by 266,000 in April, much less than the market expected an increase of 978,000, and the unemployment rate was 6.1%, higher than expected for 5.8%.
Currently, the federal government funds $300 per person per week in unemployment benefits, which, combined with state unemployment payments, total more than most minimum wage jobs earn, and these unemployment payments continue through early September.
Sung Won Sohn, a professor at the Los Angeles-based university, attributed the poor employment figures in part to the government’s overly generous unemployment benefit handouts and the reluctance of many to return to work after returning to work for fear of being infected by the New Coronavirus (Chinese Communist virus); the U.S. Chamber of Commerce has called on the Biden administration to eliminate the federal weekly unemployment benefits, but the White House does not believe the overly generous benefits have caused the labor shortage.
Biden also said Friday that the U.S. economy is moving in the right direction, but is still being dragged down by the epidemic, and weak jobs data show that the massive infrastructure and family support programs being pushed by the federal government are more necessary than ever.
Curiously, despite the disappointing April jobs report, U.S. stocks continue to hit new highs, with analysts saying the weak data has convinced investors that easy monetary policy may last longer; while U.S. merchant banking research warns that if strong economic data leads the Fed to withdraw easy monetary policy, it could hit stocks, especially technology stocks.
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