Roxas, April Jean Ortiz

BA 2004 Managerial Economics (4:00PM – 7:00PM)

Case 3. Jobs Report: The Economy Is Recovering, but Racial Disparity

INTRODUCTION

The economy continues to recover steadily from the pandemic, but the racial gap
in the labor market still exists. With the increase in vaccinations, the lockdowns have
been lifted and social distancing has been alleviated. The increase in business activities
has led to the demand for labor. However, even the employment is rising but the
economy is still far from the maximum employment goal. Few of the factors affecting the
shortage in the demand for labor are working mothers, eligibility for unemployment,
increased retirements, and workers seeking for better jobs and income. The pandemic
has a major impact in the structural change in labor market due to expanded use of the
internet for consumer spending, group communication, and business production.
On the other hand, the GDP hit 6.5% in the first quarter, but the rapid recovery of
the economy from the pandemic is leading to a temporary rise in inflation. The Federal
Reserve is required to implement monetary policy under the dual tasks of maximizing
employment and stabilizing prices. When measuring employment maximization,
population differences are not considered. Although monetary policy is an effective tool
to achieve maximum employment, it does not play a role in eliminating population
employment differences. Only through government policy interventions such as
education, vocational training, direct employment, and implementation of anti-
discrimination measures, can racial differences in employment and unemployment be
eliminated.

PROBLEM STATEMENT

The wide gap in employment growth is due to racial disparity, African Americans
remains in the least prior when it comes to employment despite the economic growth
and full employment. The number of white workers in employment increased by 1.1
million, while the number of black workers was only 12,000. Although the
unemployment rate for blacks fell by one percentage point to 8.2%, it is still much higher
than the 4.8% for whites.
The unemployment hit 8 million workers for the past month far from the reported
data before the pandemic. The labor market was heavily impacted by the pandemic,
especially few industries that rely on personal interaction. The pandemic has changed
the labor market and destroyed some minority small businesses that are unlikely to
recover during the economic recovery.
S.W.O.T ANALYSIS

STRENGTHS: WEAKNESSES:

 Economy recovery  Long-term unemployment

 Increased in vaccinations  Racial Disparity
 Lifted Lockdowns  Labor shortage
 Increased in employment

OPPORTUNITIES: THREATS:

 Job hirings  Expanded use of internet for

 Job creation economic activity
 Implementation of monetary policy  Spike in inflation
 Public policy intervention  Raising interest rates

RECOMMENDATIONS

Regardless of education level, the number of white Americans still outnumbers

African Americans and Latino Americans in terms of getting good jobs. It is strongly
recommended to expand educational opportunities, adopt anti-discrimination measures,
and implement policies and incentives that promote diversity and create more growth in
underdeveloped regions. Fulfill employers’ legal obligations to promote equality and
non-discrimination, and review their employment policies and practices to eliminate
discrimination and promote equal opportunities. By providing employers and workers
with training in anti-discrimination laws and practices, and ensuring that the workplace is
not harmed, enhance the understanding of equal rights in the workplace.
Through clear guidelines, remove employment barriers for employers, leave
room for them to take active actions in employment, create alternative dispute resolution
mechanisms to resolve complaints, and implement temporary temporary actions against
individuals and groups that are particularly vulnerable to racism and discrimination.
Special measures to promote or promote equality in the workplace compete with others;
finally, public authorities are required to monitor and report on the composition of their
workforce, and to collect and analyze disaggregated data.