'Lots of opportunities': Revived economy drives unemployment for less-educated Americans to record low
The February jobs report was good news for nearly all U.S. workers as employers added a booming 678,000 jobs.
But it was especially encouraging for Americans without a high school diploma.
The unemployment rate for that group tumbled from 6.3% in January to 4.3%, lowest on record dating to 1992 and just a modestly above the nation’s overall 3.8% jobless rate, which edged down from 4%, the Labor Department said Friday.
Traditionally, the gap for people without a high school degree is much larger. A year ago, their unemployment rate was 10.1%, compared with 6.2% for all workers.
Unemployment also fell sharply for other traditionally disadvantaged groups last month, sliding a percentage point to 4.4% for Hispanics and 0.3 percentage point to 6.6% for Black Americans.
Some of February’s sharp declines likely reflect month-to-month volatility in Labor’s survey, says Dean Baker, co-founder for the progressive Center for Economic and Policy Research. The jobless rate for less-educated workers had risen by 1.1 percentage point in January.
IS A RECESSION COMING?Odds are rising amid soaring inflation, high energy prices
ALL CASH REQUIRED: In hot housing market, startups offer all cash to help home buyers, but some are skeptical
Has the number of jobs increased?
But much of the drop also likely reflected a more favorable labor market for that group, Baker says. Many Americans have been spending a significant portion of their lives at home during the pandemic --ordering everything from meals to new rugs and appliances.
That has created millions of jobs that don’t necessarily require a high school diploma, including factory and warehouse workers, delivery drivers, couriers and other blue-collar positions. And after many businesses scaled back while COVID’s omicron variant raged in January, they sharply stepped up hiring as the pandemic eased last month, Baker says.
“There are lots of opportunities available for people with less education,” Baker says.
In February, restaurants and bars added 24,000 jobs; construction, 60,000; transportation warehousing, 48,000; and manufacturing, 36,000.
How is the job market now in the U.S.?
Also, amid widespread labor shortages, many employers in those sectors are struggling to find workers and no longer requiring new employees to have a high school degree.
“Employers are recognizing that learning by working is just as effective as a degree or certificate,” says Jane Oates, president of WorkingNation, a nonprofit that raises awareness about the challenges facing U.S. workers, and former head of Labor’s employment and training division.
Before the pandemic-induced worker shortages, most manufacturing, warehousing, delivery and other companies required a high school diploma, says Patty O’Connor, director of skilled trades service line at Express Employment Professionals, a staffing firm.
'DROVE 12 HOURS TO SAVE US': One man's efforts to transport Ukrainian refugees to safety
Now, she says, most have dropped the demand, along with requirements that candidates pass a drug test and have some experience in the field.
“All of that has become an ‘I’d like to have,’ not an ‘I need to have,’” O’Connor says. “Companies are having to change their hiring criteria all the way around.”
What are job requirements?
Before the health crisis, many warehouses and fulfillment centers insisted on a high school diploma out of habit or tradition. Workers might need to count the number or products that go into a box or make their way through the numbered sections of a large warehouse, O’Connor says.
Now, employers are allowing candidates to take a test to ensure they have those basic skills or training them, she says. And once they get a foot in the door, they can rise to managerial roles.
After the Great Recession of 2007-09, the opposite dynamic was in play. With millions of Americans out of work for years, businesses lengthened their checklist and many college graduates were working as waiters, retail associates and truck drivers.
O’Connor says employers will harden their demand once again when unemployment eventually drifts higher and they have their pick of workers. Meanwhile, though, a generation of less educated but capable workers are gaining a springboard to more fulfilling careers.