New Jobs Stagnating in U.S.

New jobs numbers for the month of September show a stagnating recovery in new jobs in the U.S. After a brief surge of new jobs following mass layoffs in April and May, some analysts are predicting long-term job shortages and permanent job losses for the country.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the U.S. gained roughly 661,000 new jobs in September. For any normal month, that would be a huge increase and major success for the U.S. jobs market. In the context of COVID-19 and previous months, however, the September jobs number represents a significant slowdown in jobs recovery. With 1.8 million new jobs in June and 1.5 million in July, there’s still a deficit of over 10 million lost jobs from the April crash of nearly 21 million.

According to the Economic Policy Institute, substantial government intervention is still needed in order to mitigate lasting damage to the economy and the American workforce. Despite other experts and policy makers urging Congress to pass new COVID-19 stimulus legislation, President Trump on Tuesday swiftly called an end to talks between Republicans and Democrats for a new stimulus plan. Being unwilling to spend roughly $2.4 trillion on a new stimulus package, Trump tweeted that he’ll end discussions and quickly pass a stimulus bill after he wins his reelection.