There’s Plenty of Economic Pain but the People Shortage Keeps Most People in Their Jobs
“We’ve been in a different kind of recession. Small businesses have been reporting for months the growing economic pain, but the people shortage has kept most people from losing their job. There are signs that too is beginning to change. 63% of job seekers now report it's more difficult finding a job.”
-- RedBalloon CEO Andrew Crapuchettes
The Bureau of Labor Statistics released the Employment Situation report for July and it showed that the US economy added 114,000 jobs, way below the expectations of 175,000 by economists. Unemployment ticked up 0.2% to 4.3%.
“There’s been a lot of pain in the economy over the past year,” Andrew Crapuchettes RedBalloon CEO said. “For small businesses, it felt like a recession."
There’s signs that too may be changing. In the yet unreleased August Freedom Economy Index Survey of job seekers and employers, 63% of job seekers report it’s now more difficult to find a job than it was 6 months ago.
And, in the July 2024 Freedom Economy survey of small business owners, half of respondents reported that they felt the economy was “turning negative.” In the same survey, 75% of employers said that they’ve frozen any HR moves, neither planning to hire nor reduce their employee numbers. The economy is entering a period of adjustment. Employers are more cautious about hiring and job seekers are facing increased challenges. As the Federal Reserve continues to monitor these trends, the coming months will be crucial in determining the overall direction of the U.S. economy and labor market.