Job creation in the private sector in the United States fell sharply in July, as the economic recovery, rapid in the spring thanks to vaccination, now slows and is threatened by the Delta variant, and recruitment difficulties persist .
The private sector created 330,000 jobs in July alone, according to the monthly survey by business services firm ADP released Wednesday, when analysts expected 650,000.
Read also: The United States created a record number of jobs in June
The number of job creations in June was also revised downwards to 680,000 instead of 692,000.
“
The labor market recovery shows uneven progress, but progresses nonetheless.
The figures for July show a marked slowdown from the pace of employment growth in the second quarter,
”said Nela Richardson, chief economist of ADP.
The service sector, which had been the most affected by the crisis, created almost all new jobs this month, with 318,000 creations, more than half of them in leisure and hotels (139,000).
“
For the fifth consecutive month, the leisure and hospitality sector is the fastest growing sector, although the progress has slowed
», Detailed Nela Richardson.
The economist also notes that many employers are having difficulty finding labor, "
in particular in light of the new concerns related to the variants of Covid-19
". She remains optimistic, however, that "
these barriers should fade in the coming months
". The problems of childcare, transport, but also fears about Covid-19 contamination, indeed remain a brake on the return to work for many unemployed.
Half of the country's states have reduced, or even eliminated, the exceptional unemployment benefits paid in the face of the pandemic, without waiting for their expiry on September 6, believing that these aids encourage the unemployed to stay at home rather than to look for a job. "
The first data show a minimal effect (...) although this has probably, at the margin, pushed some workers to accept job offers
," noted Lydia Boussour, economist for Oxford Economics, in a note published Tuesday. .
“
At the present time, it is difficult to distinguish the effects on the labor supply of the responsibilities of care (of children in particular, Editor's note) induced by the pandemic, of the fears of contracting the virus and of the 'extension of unemployment benefits
,' said Lael Brainard, one of the governors of the Fed, on Friday. Job creation in the private sector is seen as a first indication of the unemployment rate for July, which will be released on Friday, and is expected to drop 0.3 points to 5.6%. Private and public sectors combined, nearly a million jobs could have been created.