Job opportunities are at an all-time high, yet just a small percentage of people are returning to work. In June, the United States added 850,000 new jobs, indicating that the economy is improving. Despite this, the labor force participation rate has remained unchanged over the past year.
In June, the so-called labor-force participation rate remained unchanged at 61.6 percent, as it had been since October. If you have a job or are seeking for one, you are considered part of the labor force. The labor force participation rate of Hispanic or Latino persons was the highest of all categories, at 65.5 percent. With 63.2 percent, Asian-Americans were not far behind.
For the first time since 1972, the number of Blacks entering the labor force increased in June, surpassing the pace of whites for the first time. Their involvement percentage was 61.6 percent compared to 61.3 percent for whites. Early in the pandemic, the labor force shrank by around 3%, compared to the national average. The rate of labor force participation hit a 47-year low at one time. With federal unemployment benefits ending in September and more businesses and institutions reopening, some economists predict that a higher number of individuals will return to work in the coming months. However, it may take a year or two before the work force reaches its pre-pandemic peak. The Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA, +0.44 percent, the S&P 500 Index SPX, +0.75 percent, and the Nasdaq Composite Index COMP, +0.81 percent all set new closing records on Friday, ahead of the long July 4 holiday weekend./n
