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Guys I can’t stress this enough, there is not a single data point that shows enhanced UI is keeping people from working. Not a single one. It may, at some point, materialize, but right now the numbers are pointing to a fuck ton of other things.
I’m going to address anecdote on here before doing some actual data, because Twitter loves anecdotes. Those viral posts y’all are seeing on here? Signs in doors? They ALL say, every single one, that people quit. Guess who doesn’t get unemployment? Lol.
Now as for an actual data point, a half a million people reentered the labor force last month. That’s a whole separate number from those who were hired. The number of people who said “I want a job” was up last month.
You know who didn’t reenter the “I want a job” market last month? Women. The disparities were shocking. And if you, a person of color, in 2021 still think the reason for that disparity must be “unemployment and welfare” as being proposed by some...I might call you a moron
Turns out, as many theorized, parents but ESPECIALLY women are struggling with what to do with their kids. Forget even school being closed, summer is coming up... https://www.businessinsider.com/april-jobs-report-shows-women-are-still-struggling-women-employment-2021-5
Guess who also got fired more frequently than men during the pandemic? The headline here is that “100% of jobs lost in December were women”. https://www.cnbc.com/2021/01/11/women-account-for-100percent-of-jobs-lost-in-december-new-analysis.html
Oh and uh, women’s labor force participation as a result of the disproportionate firings, child care, and other related issues? 33 YEAR LOW. I’m 30. There has never been a lower percentage of employed women since longer than I’ve been alive. https://www.cnbc.com/2021/02/08/womens-labor-force-participation-rate-hit-33-year-low-in-january-2021.html
You know the single, even bigger than computers, single biggest driver for economic growth in the past century? Women entering the work force. Turns out it’s pretty fucking great when they work! Who’d have thought? You see where I’m going with this...? https://hbr.org/2018/01/when-more-women-join-the-workforce-wages-rise-including-for-men
This is one of literally a dozen different dynamics happening right now in the labor force. It’s why it was a SMART thing to provide money and transitioning help via the federal government.
No one in the entire world and history of economic literature has ever had to turn back on an entire economy, like a light switch, before. People are moving on, getting better jobs, realizing it’s cheaper to go to a single earner household because of childcare expenses, etc etc
So anyone saying that UI is the reason the economy is slowing, is wrong. The reason demand has stayed constant FOR businesses to need all of these people back is because of consumer spending and demand.
I could do a 1000 other fact supported tweets on this. But the last one im gonna say is if you are REALLY worried the US is running out of workers ya know who could help with that? Immigrants. Just a thought. Turns out they are pretty fucking awesome and contribute a TON to GDP
Shout out to Wharton. Immigrants are massively more productive than the average citizen lol. “Immigrants make up roughly 15% of workers in the U.S., yet they are 80% more likely than native workers to become entrepreneurs” https://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article/how-immigrants-expand-the-u-s-economy/
I’ll end this lil soapbox ramp by warning, as I always do, be concerned and wary of folks on LLC twitter advancing GOP lies, talking points, and misinformation as “economics or finance”. They are almost always wrong. Lol like spectacularly so, 100% of the time.
