NEW YORK – Who’s hiring right now? That may seem like an odd question with all the headlines about layoffs and projections for a slowdown. But the labor market is like a two-sided coin: Layoffs tallied about 100,000 in January, according to a recent report. But at the same time, employers added 517,000 jobs last month, nearly three times what analysts had expected.
It’s all part of what David Kelly, chief global strategist for J.P. Morgan Asset Management, calls the “legacy of weirdness” that the Covid-19 pandemic left behind in the economy.
“It’s upended all of our lives. You were having this extraordinary excess demand for workers throughout last year and going into this year; that means that it’s very hard to judge labor market dynamics from here,” Kelly said.
For example, consider that — as of December — there were two job openings for every applicant.
“There are some companies and industries who find themselves overstaffed after the pandemic and some companies and industries are desperately trying to restaff after the pandemic,” Kelly said. “You have these cross currents.“
Kelly said it’s important to distinguish between “tightening” and “strengthening” when it comes to the labor market.
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said the labor market “remains extremely tight” and is still “out of balance.”
“I think the labor market is tight but growth is going to slow down significantly over the next few months,” Kelly said.
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