The current unemployment rate in the US is 14.7%, the result of the nation’s response to the global pandemic, with many companies being mandated to shut down by the Federal or State government . With some 33,000,000 people on Unemployment, you would think the figures would suggest a market flush with talent, but that isn’t proving true.
Factor 1: Increased Unemployment
Because the government has treated this pandemic as a “no fault” event, they are granting employees unemployment requests modifying some of their processes to make sure people who lost their jobs through no fault of their own have access to money. The Federal Government has increased the amount of those payments for many people by $600, an improvement not only over what they were taking home, but also a greater amount that is more than they might make by working.
Factor 2: Stimulus Checks
At the same time, anyone who made under $70,000 and filed taxes in 2018, a huge swath of the temporary population, is receiving a stimulus check for $1,200 plus $500 for each child. Many have already received letters to inform them they are getting a second check of an additional $1,200. Why go to work to make less than you are making by not going to work?
Factor 3: No School or Day Care
As if these headwinds aren’t challenging enough, there is another factor making recruiting more difficult than it should be in a period of the largest unemployment number ever recorded. Because schools and day cares are closed, many people who would be working are unable to do so because they have no day care available.
Factor 4: Waiting for Their Old Job
Many on unemployment are waiting to go back to their employer when their businesses are allowed to reopen. Some will go back to their jobs in retail, restaurants, manufactures who were forced to close, as well as a number of industries that were deemed non-essential.
Some Perspective
In April, 2010, at the height of the Great Recession, the unemployment rate was 9.9%. The unemployment rate finally reached 5%, a number that suggests full employment, six years later in 2016. In April, 2020 the unemployment rate came in at a jaw-dropping 14.7%.
Happiness is a large database that has been nurtured and developed over years. Thankfully, we have spent the last number of years building our database to include hundreds of thousands of people, making it easier and faster for us to fill our clients orders.
If you were hoping to acquire talent (like we were), you may have to wait until the money runs out.
