Happy Labor Day?
The celebration is marred by the worst employment data in years and a strike by more than 10,000 hotel workers.
Kamala Harris addresses unionists at a rally in the presence of Joe and Jill Biden in a file photo.
This year's Labor Day celebration is overshadowed by the worst unemployment figures in years. Adding to the unrest, around 10,000 hotel workers began a strike last Sunday, protesting unsuccessful contract negotiations.
The jobless numbers for July, the latest stats published to date by the Labor Department, increased by 352,000 to 7.2 million unemployed (4.3%), the highest figure since 2021. In addition, the creation of new jobs fell well below projections, reaching only 114,000. Figures that caused markets to tumble and caused the Federal Reserve to announce a change in its interest rate policy.
Unemployment among Hispanics rose to 17.6%
Among the Hispanic population, the number of people out of work also increased by 26,000 people, going from an unemployed rate without seasonal adjustments of 16.5% to 17.6% between July 2023 and the same month in 2024. If we look at the data taking seasonality into account, unemployment rose from 13.4% to 14.7% among members of the second-largest racial minority in the US.
To top it off, the Department of Labor announced the largest downward revision in job creation since 2009. Thus, more than 818,000 jobs heralded by the Biden-Harris Administration as a sample of the success of its Bidenomics never existed other than in statistics released from the Executive Branch. The August employment report, which will be released on September 6, will be critical to understanding the performance of the U.S. and global economies.
Hotel workers' strike a blow to Labour Day celebrations
The Unite Here union called workers to a three-day strike that began last Sunday to protest working conditions in the sector. Among their demands are a wage hike and an increase in staff, which suffered heavy cutbacks in the wake of the covid pandemic.
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