April jobs numbers disappoint

Bill Rodgers, Labor Economist and Rutgers University Professor joins the Yahoo Finance Live panel with the latest disappointing Jobs numbers for April.

Video transcript

AKIKO FUJITA: Let's bring in another voice into the discussion. We've got Bill Rodgers, Rutgers University labor economist. And Bill, you've been listening to us go back and forth on what we saw in the highlights in these numbers. Certainly, leisure and hospitality really leading the way, making up a bulk of the job gains. But what stood out to you?

BILL RODGERS: I think what stood out for me is that, as what the Labor Secretary just said, is that we less so have a labor shortage. We have potentially a skills shortage, that people lost their jobs because of the pandemic. And we've seen anxiety and depression rates rise. And so, there is a level of having to possibly help reintegrate a number of-- a large number of people into the economy from a mental health and health standpoint and also upgrade-- continue upgrading skills.

But the other biggie that he mentioned that I also agree with is that this was a-- my colleague Nicole Mason, who runs the Institute for Women's Policy Research, said that this was a she recession or she-cession, and that over two million American women left the labor force. And also, you have a host of dads who had difficulty with balancing their childcare and their work arrangements. And so, this is not just about generous unemployment insurance benefits. This is about structural change that individuals or households, these are decisions that can't be clicked on and clicked off. They have to see that the economy is really going to be growing until they come back.

ZACK GUZMAN: Yeah, to solve that, though, I mean, you heard from Marty Walsh there in that sound clip talking about some of the president's plans moving forward. And we've talked about maybe some of the unintended negative consequences of supporting people through stimulus checks and unemployment there and how it might drag on this recovery if more people just say, look, I don't want to necessarily go back and get the job now because it's going to be there later on in the year. When it comes to maybe some of those benefits around parental leave, I don't necessarily see unintended consequences that can come from that in regards to employment. But is there anything there that might play a role in maybe prolonging this recovery on that front as well?

BILL RODGERS: Well, I think we have to really step back and put this whole last year in context. In my generation, in my lifetime, I haven't seen an economic collapse like we did, and also a health collapse. So I guess, I would-- Zack, I would really err on the side of being a little more generous and supportive of American families. You have to recall when this pandemic hit, the Federal Reserve, one of their wonderful surveys found that basically about a third of American households couldn't pay an unanticipated bill of $400.

So we were-- our structural-- our foundation for many homes and many communities was pretty on tenuous sort of feet prior to this starting. And so, some of this really behavior, what we're doing at the federal government with response is really about also improving economic security, not only in the business cycle cyclical ups and downs, but really structurally-- structurally.

AKIKO FUJITA: And Bill, you've talked a lot about the she-cession, as you put it. And when you look at the factors outside of the labor market, schools, for example, many of them have reopened in some form. But a lot of students haven't gone back to 100% full-time in-person classes. A lot of schools probably won't do that until the fall. And so, what does that suggest in terms of how quickly the economy can really kick into high gear if it is about bringing back, especially women, who have really stepped away from the workforce out of necessity during the pandemic?

BILL RODGERS: Yeah, I mean, the markets, whether it be Main Street or Wall Street, like certainty, right? And so what you just described there, the picture you just painted, Akiko, is one of-- it's kind of in the middle, right? It's almost-- it's not too hot, not too cold, but it's not permanent enough for many families, many parents, to be able to make definitive plans around, OK, yes, to an employer, I can commit to being and working from 30, 40-- 35 or 40 hours or more hours a week. That we still need a little more certainty with regards to the direction of the economy and the direction of addressing the COVID crisis.

So there are variants out there. We're seeing the tragedy, what's unfolding in India. We're in a globalized society, globalized community. And so we have to be concerned about these other extending factors.

AKIKO FUJITA: And to your point, that suggests more uncertainty ahead. But Bill, it's always good to get your read on these numbers. Bill Rodgers, Rutgers University labor economist, joining us--