U.S. Employers Looking to Hire Despite Economic Challenges

U.S. Employers Looking to Hire Despite Economic Challenges

U.S. Employers Looking to Hire Despite Economic Challenges

New York, NY, August 3, 2022 – In spite of a challenging economy, many U.S. businesses are still looking to hire, reports the Wall Street Journal.

“Businesses across the U.S. have seen demand for goods and services cool as inflation has risen and the Federal Reserve has increased interest rates. The U.S. economy shrank at an annual rate of 0.9% from April through June, marking the second consecutive quarterly contraction and raising concern among economists that a recession is near, if not already here.

“Growth in the labor market is also slowing, with companies such as Robinhood Markets Inc. laying off workers, more people filing for unemployment insurance and some labor data pointing to cracks forming in demand for workers.

“Yet employers so far have continued to hire. The U.S. added 372,000 jobs in June, and economists surveyed by The Wall Street Journal think Friday’s jobs report will show that they added more than 250,000 in July.

“Payrolls have grown faster during the first half of this year than during any other post-World War II period when the economy began contracting. Regardless of whether a recession is eventually declared, the latest economic figures show that output is weakening much faster than the job market.

“The disconnect between the growing job market and otherwise faltering economy boils down to one key point: Despite slowing consumer demand, the supply of workers to make goods and provide services has been considerably below companies’ needs.

“Employers in many cases haven’t been able to find nearly enough employees following job cuts during the short, deep recession of early 2020. Others that have returned to prepandemic employment levels are hesitant to lay off workers, given the difficulty they have experienced rehiring after pandemic shutdowns. The unusual labor-market dynamic puts the U.S. economy in a stronger position to weather a downturn than in the past, according to some economists.”