According to a report filed Monday by the Congressional Budget Office, the number of Americans employed will not return to its pre-pandemic level until 2024. However, on a broad scale, the economy is expected to recover by the middle of this year.
Projections show just how much more the job market needs to improve in order to heal after suffering the steepest loss on record in April. Within a single month, unemployment rate shot up to 14.7% with 20.5 million jobs losses.
This could put the pressure on government officials to speed up the passage of another relief bill and recovery package. However, President Joe Biden is already battling resistance in Congress to the current $1.9 trillion rescue proposal. This proposal was brought to attention last month. Biden is scheduled to meet this week with several GOP senators who have introduced a $618 billion counter offer. Later this month Joe Biden is expected to release a recovery package.
US recovery is still volatile, with the economy only bringing back little less than half the positions that disappeared. In December 140K jobs were lost. The January forecast is expected to be released on Friday, which estimates that only 50K positions will be added. The US unemployment is expected to remain steady at 6.7%, where it has remained since November 2020.
Labor markets will continue to improve according to CBO’s 10-year outlook. Economic expansion will lead many to rejoin the labor force. This will help the unemployment rate gradually decline – agencies estimate that the number of employed Americans will recover to pre-pandemic levels in 2024.
