Today, the U.S. Department of Labor released the latest jobs report for June which show an impressive 850K jobs added to the economy and a drop in unemployment to 5.9%. The report defies previous expectations from economists, and while there’s much to celebrate, there’s a bigger picture to consider and a deeper story to uncover. I, and a panel of other distinguished guests, joined Stephanie Ruhle on MSNBC to discuss.
BREAKING: The U.S. economy gained 850,000 jobs in June, a sign that the recovery is building momentum. @jasonfurman and @johnhopebryant react to the brand new report.@MSNBC pic.twitter.com/uILD21j8l2
— Stephanie Ruhle Reports (@RuhleOnMSNBC) July 2, 2021
From a national perspective, the job report is good. But we have to consider things from a real world perspective as well . People who have had “thriving” jobs have faired pretty well through the pandemic and continue to do so. Those with “surviving” jobs, however, are still questioning if they want to want to get back to their dead end job with little chance for mobility.
The lived realities between the “haves” and “have nots” is the likely reason why the labor force participation rate hasn’t really increased. People simply want better for themselves. They have had a year to reflect and realized that they deserve to live a financially dignified life where full time employment equates to a living wage, not hovering right above or on the poverty line.
Check out my segment above and then watch my “After the Show” segment below to hear my thoughts on today’s jobs report.