Unemployment Report Suggests Return to the Carter Era

It was another disappointing month for the Biden Administration concerning jobs. The November unemployment report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics vastly underperformed economists’ expectations. Only 210,000 jobs were created – far below the predicted 573,000.

Biden’s November number is the worst initial employment figure yet for all of 2021. And this poor performance has come at a time when holiday season jobs should be included in the statistics. It also arrives as fears mount regarding how the American workforce may be affected by future lockdowns and increased regulation related to the Omicron COVID-19 variant.

While the official unemployment rate was reported to have shrunk from 4.6% to 4.2%, the alternative measure that includes those not looking for work or only “marginally attached” to the workforce (and often cited as the best employment indicator) remain a full percentage point higher than the rate touted by the White House and reported by the media. Black overall unemployment also has remained a full three percentage points above white overall unemployment. For black teens, the jobless rate skyrocketed over the past month from 16.1% to 21.9%.

Workforce participation rose a little, but disappointed at 61.8%. Bankrate senior analyst Mark Hamrick told the New York Post: “Payroll gains clearly disappointed, coming in significantly below expectations.”

Members of the National Center’s Project 21 black leadership network are similarly underwhelmed with the Biden Administration’s efforts to get Americans – particularly black Americans – back to work.

“Today’s employment numbers demonstrate to the American people that the Biden-Harris Administration is just a reincarnation of the hapless Jimmy Carter years,” says Project 21 member Christopher Arps. “Just like during the Carter years, inflation is high, consumer confidence is low and voters have lost confidence in their president’s leadership and proposed solutions. Unfortunately, I’m afraid the release of these disappointing jobless numbers today will only bolster the White House’s false claims that the ‘Build Back Better Act’ will stimulate the economy and create ‘good union jobs.’”

“President Biden’s ‘Build Back Better’ plan is building our economy back to the past,” says Project 21 member Tim Parrish. “The policies associated with his ‘plan’ are regressive – sending businesses back to a time when the economy was struggling and stalled. Instead of creating an environment that allows businesses to thrive, innovate and create the high-paying jobs Americans are yearning for, this plan arrests innovation and bogs down progress, under the cancerous pressure of overregulation and crushing taxes.”

“The disappointing jobs report is more akin to ‘Build Back Never’ than ‘Build Back Better.’ While it’s good to see a positive change in jobs, the growth is so slow it will take a long time to win back our six million lost jobs,” notes Project 21 member Michael Austin. “While the unemployment rate moves in the right direction, it’s a misleading trend. The unemployment rate isn’t low because Americans are finding work, but because millions have dropped out of the labor force since the pandemic. To make matters worse, employee wages can’t outstrip inflation – with November’s 4.8% pay bump falling short of October’s 6.2% price hike.”

“Frankly, government and politicians don’t in fact create jobs; businesses do!” adds Tim. “Government simply gets in the way of that process and hinders progress. Build Back Better’s disruptive nature is the enemy of investment, and it acts as a disruptor to the labor market. Tax increases on the business sector are simply passed onto the already fraught labor market and current workers, and serve as a staunch barrier to those hoping to enter the labor market by finding a good job.”

“The bottom line is that Joe Biden’s government is growing faster than ever, but it’s at the expense of hardworking families and small businesses,” Michael concludes. “Milton Friedman spoke perfectly when he said the true burden of government is not how much it taxes but how much it spends. America can’t build back from the pandemic if the ball and chain of Biden’s reckless deficit spending keep getting heavier.”