WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, the Bureau of Labor Statistics announced that just 210,000 jobs were added in November far below expectations. The overall unemployment rate fell 0.4 percentage points to 4.2%. The unemployment rate for women fell to 4% as more women return to the labor force for another month in a row.
Patrice Onwuka, director of the Center for Economic Opportunity at Independent Women’s Forum, issued the following statement:
“This jobs report is disappointing, but there are bright spots. Workers, especially women, returning to the labor force is welcomed news. This last jobs report of the year shows solid signs that workers are more confident than ever to return to work. Positively, some of the factors which sidelined them — from a lack of child care to generous government payments — are increasingly no longer holding some workers back from reentering the workforce. Women, in particular, may also be finding the flexible opportunities that they desire.
“However, worker shortages persist across many industries and at least 5 million workers remain absent from the labor force since the beginning of the pandemic. The tight labor market is forcing all employers to pass along wage increases to customers in the form of inflated prices. Labor shortages are putting added pressure on small businesses, which are fighting to stay afloat even in the midst of record demand for their goods and services.
“Rising wages should benefit workers, but because they can’t keep pace with rising prices at the grocery store and the gas pump, workers feel short-changed. This vicious cycle is here to stay and will only get worse if Congress passes its multi trillion partisan tax-and-spend budget, which is certain to turbocharge inflation going into next year and beyond.”
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