Editorial: More people in the workforce is good news
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On Labor Day, we don’t honor the work that people do.
We celebrate the people who do the work.
It is a day off at the end of summer, as kids go back to school and schedules revert back to the norm after three months of vacations and heat and lawn mowing. It’s one day where the country agrees to just say we’re taking off.
For the last two years, Labor Day has been a little awkward.
In 2020, it was strained as we were still in the clenched fist of the coronavirus pandemic. There was no vaccine. There was not a good handle on treatments yet. Pennsylvania was still tightly held in protocols meant to stop — or at least slow down — the disease’s spread. That meant many people were off work while restaurants and other businesses were in limbo.
In 2021, the working picture was different. Jobs were everywhere. Starting wages were up as convenience stores and fast-food joints were desperate for workers. Schools needed bus drivers and substitute teachers. Hospitals needed nurses.
Now in 2022, employment numbers are rising. A report released Friday put August’s jobs up by 315,000 with 3.7% unemployment. That jobless number was up by .2% from August, with experts suggesting that was positive. Not because more Americans were out of work but because it means more Americans are seeking work.
The big issue with employment since the onset of the pandemic is that many people who went home in March 2020 when the world all but closed shop decided not to come back. Some approaching retirement decided to embrace it a bit early. Some families who needed to adjust to remote learning had one parent opt to stay home and save on child care costs. There were a lot of lifestyle changes.
But more people joining the workforce is good. It helps the economic engine keep running and it might just be what pulls Pennsylvania — and America and maybe the world — out of the inflation spiral.
Not everyone agrees there. Some think new jobs will mean more money circulating and higher demand for goods pushing prices even higher.
But we can’t ignore the other side. More people working can be the solution to other half of inflation — supply chain problems keeping goods off the shelves. If more people are working, it could affect production and help balance supply and demand.
What we do know is that on Monday we celebrate workers. The people who get up and do the job and keep the economic wheels turning. And we know that more people are getting up and punching a clock — or at least looking for a clock to punch. And that is good for all of us.
Happy Labor Day.