Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • Brightmine
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Free trial
    • Request a quote
  • Webinars
  • Advertise
  • OHW+

Personnel Today

Register
Log in
Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • Brightmine
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Free trial
    • Request a quote
  • Webinars
  • Advertise
  • OHW+

USAHospitalityNorth AmericaLatest NewsEconomics, government & business

US job recovery slower than hoped, despite stimulus

by Adam McCulloch 10 May 2021
by Adam McCulloch 10 May 2021 President-elect Joe Biden will reverse many of Donald Trump's immigration rules. Photo: CNP/DPA/PA Images
President-elect Joe Biden will reverse many of Donald Trump's immigration rules. Photo: CNP/DPA/PA Images

President Joe Biden’s $1.9tn stimulus package has had initially disappointing results, say economists, as US employers hired fewer workers than expected last month.

The US Bureau of Labor Statistics found that just 266,000 jobs were added in April and the unemployment rate edged up to 6.1%, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Analysts had expected between 900,000 to two million jobs to be created by the measure but although there has been a surge in hiring in the leisure and hospitality sector over the past month, other sectors, including transportation and manufacturing, had seen a decline in job number or stagnation.

The Democrat Party administration pushed through the stimulus package in March in response to unemployment reaching 9.8 million by the end of February because of lockdowns.

About 770,000 jobs were added in March, which had led to renewed optimism about the pace of the US’s recovery.

US stories at Personnel Today

US immigration: How Biden’s election affects global mobility

Google to pay $3.8m for discriminating against thousands

Most US firms ‘just going through the motions’ on inclusion

In a speech on Friday President Joe Biden said the new job numbers showed the country was “on the right track” and reiterated that the bailout was a “year-long effort to rescue our country”. He dismissed the notion “we should be disappointed”.

The President said: “We knew this wouldn’t be a sprint; it would be a marathon. Quite frankly, we’re moving more rapidly than I thought we would.”

The US economy grew sharply by 6.4% on an annual basis in the first quarter of 2021.

Richard Flynn, UK managing director at Charles Schwab, told the BBC that although the figures might be off-putting to investors, “boom conditions are evident” in terms of GDP, retail sales and job growth. “We are yet to see the full effect of this since the unemployment rate is one of the most lagging of economic indicators,” he added.

Ian Shepherdson, chief economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics, told the BBC that surveys revealed that labour demand in the US was very strong but firms were finding it hard to recruit people.

The reduction in manufacturing jobs was thought to be linked to problems in the car industry where there was a shortage of components. The fall in courier jobs reflected a decline in online ordering as retail outlets reopened.

Part of the reason for the lag in figures is thought to be related to some unemployed people being reluctant to look for work because they fear catching the virus. There has also been a rise in unemployment benefits that may have encouraged some to delay looking for work.

One area where employment is recovering is education, where the return of in-person teaching has seen an increase of 31,000 on the local government payroll.

Sign up to our weekly round-up of HR news and guidance

Receive the Personnel Today Direct e-newsletter every Wednesday

OptOut
This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Analysts also believe that many women, especially working mothers, have left the workforce to care for children. Others have taken up new occupations and have not returned to their old jobs.

Latest HR job opportunities on Personnel Today

Browse more human resources jobs

Adam McCulloch

Adam McCulloch first worked for Personnel Today magazine in the early 1990s as a sub editor. He rejoined Personnel Today as a writer in 2017, covering all aspects of HR but with a special interest in diversity, social mobility and industrial relations. He has ventured beyond the HR realm to work as a freelance writer and production editor in sectors including travel (The Guardian), aviation (Flight International), agriculture (Farmers' Weekly), music (Jazzwise), theatre (The Stage) and social work (Community Care). He is also the author of KentWalksNearLondon. Adam first became interested in industrial relations after witnessing an exchange between Arthur Scargill and National Coal Board chairman Ian McGregor in 1984, while working as a temp in facilities at the NCB, carrying extra chairs into a conference room!

previous post
Thousands of mini umbrella companies abusing tax system
next post
Monzo offers leave for pregnancy loss and fertility treatment

You may also like

Microsoft to cut 3% of jobs worldwide

14 May 2025

UK-US trade deal threatens bioethanol jobs

12 May 2025

UK-US deal saves ‘thousands’ of jobs in car...

9 May 2025

Trump ‘restores’ meritocracy by eroding discrimination protections

25 Apr 2025

UK employees worried by potential rise of US...

24 Apr 2025

Two-thirds of businesses expect profits to fall as...

4 Apr 2025

JCB to expand capacity in US in response...

4 Apr 2025

Florida to relax child labour laws

28 Mar 2025

Trump orders closure of US mediation body in...

27 Mar 2025

Ben & Jerry’s accuses Unilever for sacking boss...

20 Mar 2025

  • 2025 Employee Communications Report PROMOTED | HR and leadership...Read more
  • The Majority of Employees Have Their Eyes on Their Next Move PROMOTED | A staggering 65%...Read more
  • Prioritising performance management: Strategies for success (webinar) WEBINAR | In today’s fast-paced...Read more
  • Self-Leadership: The Key to Successful Organisations PROMOTED | Eletive is helping businesses...Read more
  • Retaining Female Talent: Four Ways to Reduce Workplace Drop Out PROMOTED | International Women’s Day...Read more

Personnel Today Jobs
 

Search Jobs

PERSONNEL TODAY

About us
Contact us
Browse all HR topics
Email newsletters
Content feeds
Cookies policy
Privacy policy
Terms and conditions

JOBS

Personnel Today Jobs
Post a job
Why advertise with us?

EVENTS & PRODUCTS

The Personnel Today Awards
The RAD Awards
Employee Benefits
Forum for Expatriate Management
OHW+
Whatmedia

ADVERTISING & PR

Advertising opportunities
Features list 2025

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Linkedin


© 2011 - 2025 DVV Media International Ltd

Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • Brightmine
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Free trial
    • Request a quote
  • Webinars
  • Advertise
  • OHW+