BLS reported disappointing April job numbers: Economy added just 266K jobs, below the 1 million estimate as 1 in 3 Americans now depend on the government

Today, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported disappointing job numbers for the month of April. BLS reported that the total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 266,000 in April, a huge miss compared to the 1 million consensus estimate.

Thanks to Biden’s $1.9 stimulus package, many Americans don’t feel the pressure to go out and find jobs because they are making more money just staying home. According to the BLS report, most of the job gains are in leisure and hospitality, other services, and local government education. Here is how the BLS reported it:

“Total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 266,000 in April, and the unemployment rate was little
changed at 6.1 percent, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Notable job gains in leisure and hospitality, other services, and local government education were partially offset by employment declines in temporary help services and in couriers and messengers.”

It’s a disappointing result considering that only 266K jobs filled out of 7.4 million job openings last month and an estimate of 6,797,000 unfilled job vacancies, according to the BLS.

Today, there are over 59 million Americans that receive welfare during an average month plus other millions that receive unemployment insurance, according to the DOL report.

Meanwhile, the Minneapolis Federal Research Chief Neel Kashkari admitted that the generous unemployment benefits are keeping workers out of the labor market.

“We hear all the same anecdotes…yes of course there are people who are on the sidelines and who are getting generous unemployment and they’re saying ‘yes we understand the labor market will be strong in three or four months…we know that dynamic is there,” Kashkari said.

Kashkari is not alone. The US Chamber of Commerce released a statement calling for ending the $300 weekly supplemental benefit.

the US Chamber of Commerce released a statement calling for ending the $300 weekly supplemental benefit. The Executive Vice President and Chief Policy Officer Neil Bradley released the following as a statement, saying: “Paying people not to work is dampening what should be a stronger jobs market” and is hurting the overall recovery.” Below is the full statement.

“The disappointing jobs report makes it clear that paying people not to work is dampening what should be a stronger jobs market. We need a comprehensive approach to dealing with our workforce issues and the very real threat unfilled positions poses to our economic recovery from the pandemic. One step policymakers should take now is ending the $300 weekly supplemental unemployment benefit. Based on the Chamber’s analysis, the $300 benefit results in approximately one in four recipients taking home more in unemployment than they earned working.”

You may ask: What has this got to do with technology startup companies? The point is that tech startups, most especially with very limited funding and resources, are now going to find it much more difficult to compete in the current labor market. They also have to be creative in their hiring process, probably depend more on freelance workers to get their projects off the ground.