Labor Day honors the struggle of American workers. The efforts and sacrifices of the U.S. labor movement have led to many significant achievements, including the creation of the 40-hour work week.
More than a century since the creation of the Labor Day holiday, unions and workers are still mobilizing against things like unfair pay and treatment. Layoffs and unemployment are issues as well; recently, the civilian unemployment rate has been rising. It was 4.3% as of July 2024, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, up from 3.5% a year prior.
Julie Su, the acting secretary for the U.S. Department of Labor, discussed unemployment and the economy with Tom Hudson on The Florida Roundup.
Despite the numbers, she said the current unemployment rate “is really one indicator of the overall strength of the economy.”
The number of jobs American companies have created each month is also less than what it was a year ago through July. Su said this is part of a transition “to a more sustainable level of growth.”
“And the numbers that we're currently seeing are still above the numbers that are needed to keep pace with the number of workers that are in the workforce,” she said, adding that state policies also play a part.
“So federal investments matter, but states matter too. And much of the federal dollars, first of all, go through states, so the partnership is really important.”
In Florida, the unemployment rate in July 2024 was 3.3%, according to FloridaCommerce. The state compares monthly unemployment numbers to national numbers.
“A lot of times the comparisons are really just to give us a sense of, how are we doing relative to something else? But at the end of the day, what matters to the individual is when they go out in the job market knowing that they can find a job that is aligned with their talents and skills and interests, and one that allows them to make a decent living and put away a little bit and even take some time to rest and enjoy,” Su said.
Recently, the Bureau of Labor Statistics did its usual revision of 12 months’ worth of jobs data, from April 2023 to March 2024. Its preliminary estimate, however, said there were 818,000 fewer jobs created in the U.S. than previously reported.
Su said this isn’t a sign of a deteriorating job market, and that the original data are still reliable.
“… we put out numbers monthly so that we can get that sense. But in order to do them that quickly, we always have to make adjustments based on information as we get it. So that's what this is. It's very much part and parcel of the jobs data that comes out. It happens under every administration, every, every time,” she explained.
Su mentioned the Biden administration must still address issues like the cost of housing, gas and groceries, which is where price gouging comes in.
“Well, I think when you raise prices, and basically create a situation where the price of basic goods, the price of groceries, the price of fast food, these things become really a stretch for working Americans, and where you see major growth in CEO pay, where this money goes to increasing CEO pay, which has grown dramatically since the pandemic. That is our definition of price gouging, where you're putting CEO pay and profits above the well-being of working people and working families,” she said.
This story was compiled off an interview conducted by Tom Hudson for The Florida Roundup.
