Labor Market Recovery Slowing, 53% Of COVID Job Losses Have Been Recovered

  • 53% of COVID private sector jobs losses have been recovered (Chart 2)
  • Total private-sector payrolls are still down 7.4% since January (Chart 3)
  • Service-providing jobs have been hit disproportionally hard, falling 7.8% since January (Chart 3)
  • Goods producing jobs only make up 16.7% of private-sector employment (Chart 4)
  • The Computer & Electronic Products sector employment has held up well, done only 1.0% since January (Chart 4)
  • Employment in the Computer & Electronic Products sector is down 44.0% since January 1990 (Chart 5)

Total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 661,000 in September, and the unemployment rate declined to 7.9 percent, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. These improvements in the labor market reflect the continued resumption of economic activity that had been curtailed due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and efforts to contain it. In September, notable job gains occurred in leisure and hospitality, in retail trade, in health care and social assistance, and in professional and business services. Employment in government declined over the month, mainly in state and local government education. – BLS

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