More new jobs were posted in February than experts expected. The effects of the corona crisis are decreasing.
The flight to the USA almost broke off
The US labor market, which was badly shaken by the corona crisis, picked up unexpectedly significantly in February. The government announced on Friday that 379,000 jobs were created outside of agriculture. Economists surveyed had expected a lot less with a plus of 182,000. At the beginning of the year, too, the job market went much better than initially assumed. In January, 166,000 jobs were created and not 49,000 as initially estimated.
The unemployment rate determined in a separate survey fell in February by a tick to 6.2 percent. In the United States, the corona restrictions have recently been relaxed in numerous states. “Opening restaurants, for example, requires service staff. This consequently has positive effects on the labor market,” explained chief economist Thomas Gitzel from Liechtenstein's VP Bank.
It is already becoming apparent that the positive development will continue in March. But it is also clear that with better economic data, the doubts of the financial markets about a continued expansionary monetary policy increase: “The better-than-expected US labor market has certainly not helped to calm things down.”
10 million jobs lost
The bottom line was that around ten million jobs were lost in the US during the corona crisis. According to Fed Chairman Jerome Powell, the return to full employment is no longer expected this year. Economist Bastian Hepperle from the German Bankhaus Lampe points out that the loss of jobs will only be able to be made up in more than two years, even at the current rate of job creation: “But the current high rate will not be sustained.”
