Once-In-A-Generation Job Market Has Ended

New York, NY, July 24, 2024-"Americans’ once-in-a-generation job market has come to an end,” reports the Wall Street Journal.

“The red-hot hiring and rock-bottom unemployment that helped millions of workers find new gigs, boost their wages and reinvent their careers are giving way to more prosaic times. While the market is still healthy by many measures, signs of difficulty are creeping in.

“The unemployment rate ticked up to 4.1% last month-the first time it has crossed above 4% since 2021. That’s still low by historical measures, but it’s up from 3.4% early last year. Workers have stopped quitting jobs at a frenzied pace, and college grads are having a hard time breaking into the market at all. The number of open positions for every unemployed person is back to the prepandemic level of 1.2, down from over two in 2022. 

“And while the risk of getting laid off is still low, hiring has fallen beneath its pre-Covid level. 

“Many economists see a job market that has come back into balance, though some worry that conditions could continue worsening.

“‘The labor market cooled back to a strong place. This is a good labor market. But it’s not clear if the cooling is done,’ said Claudia Sahm, chief economist at New Century Advisors, an investment firm.

“Economists say the historically unusual dynamics that caused the boom-an economy that shut down and then roared back to life during a pandemic-were always going to be fleeting.

“‘Frankly, I’m not sure that labor market was ever sustainable. It was built on the back of a huge Covid shock. It was amazing to see but it was never going to stick around long,’ said Nick Bunker, an economist at the job-search site Indeed.

“The boom times were fun while they lasted. Wages soared as employers fought for workers during a nationwide labor shortage, peaking at year-over-year growth of 5.9% in March 2022, federal data shows.”