(Reuters) – President Joe Biden on Friday called for more fiscal support to address one of the biggest challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic – how to get millions of non-working Americans back to work to get.
The labor market recovered a bit in January when 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 was halting, and that it was doing little to reduce the huge gap created by the pandemic.
“At such a rate, it will take ten years before we get full service,” Biden said Friday morning from the White House.
About half of the 22 million jobs lost during the pandemic have been recovered. But it still leaves a gap of about 10 million jobs, out of proportion, held by women and minorities in low-wage roles.
Jared Bernstein, a member of the White House Council of Economic Advisers, pointed to an increase in long-term unemployment and the excessive impact of the pandemic on women and workers of color, while stressing the importance of taking action soon.
“Today’s report (jobs) is another reminder that our economy is still climbing deeper than that of the Great Recession and that it needs additional relief,” Bernstein said during a news conference in the White House on Friday.
Here’s a look at the people who need the most help as the economy heals:
MINORITY HEARTS
As the economy reopened last year due to widespread closures, many office workers adapted to work remotely, and other industries called people back to work.
But many black, Hispanic and Asian workers who were over-represented in the low-wage occupations most affected by the pandemic are still unemployed, such as waiters, bartenders, cooks and housekeepers.
The overall unemployment rate fell to 6.3% in January. But within this rate, there are major racial differences – more than 9% of black workers are unemployed, compared to less than 6% of white workers:
Graphs: Increases racial differences Increases racial differences –
WOMEN STUCK
Prior to the pandemic, the share of women seeking work or jobs rose thanks to record-breaking economic expansion.
The crisis turned profits around, in part because the closure of schools and childcare centers left working mothers with a weaker support system.
About 2.5 million women withdrew from the workforce during the pandemic, compared to 1.8 million men, according to Labor Department data.
Graphs: Women leaving the labor force Women leaving the labor force –
Biden says he wants to help more women get back to work through policies that reopen schools safely and make childcare more affordable.
SECTOR BY SECTOR
Businesses that rely on travel or spend people indoors close to each other have the slowest recovery. Many people who earn their living by staffing kitchens, mixing drinks or cleaning hotel rooms are still without work.
Employment in leisure and hospitality declined in January by 23% from pre-pandemic levels in February 2020, more than any other industry.
Graphics: Repairing rags: jobs by industry –
Economists expect many of these jobs to return after coronavirus vaccines are widely distributed and consumers spend more money comfortably in restaurants, bars and other entertainment venues. But it is not clear whether employment will return completely to previous levels.
LONG TERM UNEMPLOYED
Some people have expanded their job search, including many people in the leisure and hospitality industry.
The ‘long-term unemployed’, or those who have been out of work 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 has shown that people who are long-term unemployed can find it more difficult to find work, which could put them at risk of getting a pay cut or dropping out of the job market.
Graphics: longer unemployment periods –
Biden wants to create federally subsidized jobs in healthcare, clean energy and other fields that can help long-term unemployed people move into new roles.
ABOUT THE CARD
It can be especially difficult to design federal policies to be unemployed because job losses vary greatly from country to country.
Employment in Idaho, Utah and Kansas recovered to the level before pandemic by December. But the situation was more dire in New York and the tourism-dependent Nevada and Hawaii.
This can lead to wide disagreements between legislators about how much more help is needed to restore the economy and the labor market.
Graphics: Repairing the patchwork: jobs by state –
Reporting by Jonnelle Marte; Additional reporting by Howard Schneider. Edited by Heather Timmons, Andrea Ricci and Chizu Nomiyama