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2021 shattered job market records, but it's not as good as it looks
Business • Analysis
2021 shattered job market records, but it’s not as good as it looks
When placed in proper context, the massive job and wage gains of 2021 start to come back down to earth
A Chevron station in Snoqualmie Pass, Wash., on Jan. 4. Gas-station staff are among the lowest-paid workers in the country, but have seen much-higher-than-average wage gains this year. (David Ryder/Bloomberg News)
By Andrew Van Dam
Reporter
January 8, 2022 at 7:00 a.m. EST
While the labor market began 2021 in a deep hole, huge numbers of Americans found work amid the pandemic, with a record-breaking 6.4 million jobs added over the course of last year, eclipsing all expectations.
Rank-and-file workers’ hourly paychecks rose by $1.46 an hour, another record-breaking number. Gains were especially pronounced for those in lower-paying industries.
It was, by these measures and many others, the best year in labor-market history, ignited in part by aggressive stimulus spending that pushed consumer spending to stratospheric levels. But the numbers on their own can be downright misleading.
The 6.4 million jobs gained this year, while a record in absolute terms, represents only a 4.5 percent increase in the workforce. That’s smaller than the 5.0 percent growth seen in 1978, when a much smaller labor force added 4.3 million jobs. In fact, relative to the size of the workforce, it’s only the 11th best calendar year since record-keeping began in 1939.
{snip loads of charts and text}
Alyssa Fowers contributed to this report.
By Andrew Van Dam
Andrew Van Dam covers data and economics. He previously worked for the Wall Street Journal, the Boston Globe and the Idaho Press-Tribune. Twitter https://twitter.com/andrewvandam
2021 shattered job market records, but it’s not as good as it looks
When placed in proper context, the massive job and wage gains of 2021 start to come back down to earth
A Chevron station in Snoqualmie Pass, Wash., on Jan. 4. Gas-station staff are among the lowest-paid workers in the country, but have seen much-higher-than-average wage gains this year. (David Ryder/Bloomberg News)
By Andrew Van Dam
Reporter
January 8, 2022 at 7:00 a.m. EST
While the labor market began 2021 in a deep hole, huge numbers of Americans found work amid the pandemic, with a record-breaking 6.4 million jobs added over the course of last year, eclipsing all expectations.
Rank-and-file workers’ hourly paychecks rose by $1.46 an hour, another record-breaking number. Gains were especially pronounced for those in lower-paying industries.
It was, by these measures and many others, the best year in labor-market history, ignited in part by aggressive stimulus spending that pushed consumer spending to stratospheric levels. But the numbers on their own can be downright misleading.
The 6.4 million jobs gained this year, while a record in absolute terms, represents only a 4.5 percent increase in the workforce. That’s smaller than the 5.0 percent growth seen in 1978, when a much smaller labor force added 4.3 million jobs. In fact, relative to the size of the workforce, it’s only the 11th best calendar year since record-keeping began in 1939.
{snip loads of charts and text}
Alyssa Fowers contributed to this report.
By Andrew Van Dam
Andrew Van Dam covers data and economics. He previously worked for the Wall Street Journal, the Boston Globe and the Idaho Press-Tribune. Twitter https://twitter.com/andrewvandam
1 replies
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