An expected U.S. hiring boom, as the country began opening up, crashed in April, with employers adding a teeny 266,000 new jobs. It sharply missing Wall Street’s expectations. amid a growing shortage of available workers. The unemployment rate unexpectedly rose to 6.1%.
Democrats insisted on continuing unemployment-plus which makes it more beneficial for people to stay home and not work.
Economists surveyed by Refinitiv expected the report to show that unemployment fell to 5.8% and the economy added 978,000 jobs.
The figure marks a significant drop from March’s downwardly revised number of 770,000 and February’s upwardly revised 536,000.
The leisure and hospitality industry, the hardest-hit sector, accounted for the bulk of the hiring gains, adding 331,000 workers. But the industry remains 2.9 million workers shy of where it was last February before the crisis began.
There is also the problem of blue states remaining closed, and inflation worries.
Biden’s policies and the ill-conceived lockdown have done a lot of damage. We have only begun to see how much.
INFLATION WORRIES
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According to The Alignable Inflation Poll, conducted among 7,735 small business owners from 4/24/21 to 5/5/21, more than two out of three small business owners (67%) are concerned that inflation will hurt their ability to recover. And 38% of small business owners say they’re “highly concerned” about inflation.
The majority of small business owners say they’re having trouble accessing supplies they need, and the supplies they can access are more expensive than ever.
Here are a few quotes from the survey, illustrating what’s already starting to happen to a variety of small businesses.
“My clients’ businesses are already affected by inflation. Now, they can’t afford to pay for my legal services.”
“All shipping costs, both within America and internationally, have greatly increased. Since much of our business is Internet-based and we offer free shipping, those new costs are very expensive for us.”
“All of my suppliers have had to raise their prices. It’s a hard time to be a small business owner.”
Beyond those inflationary issues, the majority of small business owners (52%) reported that they’re hesitant to pass along these increased costs to their customers.
[This shouldn’t be a shock with Biden’s plan to destroy the industry. Food and fuel are going up steadily. He also wants a higher minimum wage during COV.]
Here’s more data from the poll, that vividly paints the increasingly frustrating situation burdening small business owners:
- 80% say the cost of supplies is up compared to pre-COVID levels. And 22% say those costs have increased by 25% or more
- 59% say they’re having difficulty acquiring inventory/supplies
- Of those who have employees, 50% say they’re having trouble finding new ones to fill vacancies
- And 51% say the employees they can find require higher salaries or hourly rates than they did before COVID, as there’s a labor shortage across many industries.
- But considering all of those increased costs, only 48% say they’re charging higher prices to cover their skyrocketing expenses. (And 26% of these small business owners have only hiked prices from 1-10%).
In fact, for the first time in the past year, the No. 1 concern listed among small business owners is the rising cost of supplies. This fear trumped worries about running out of cash reserves and even concerns about customers being too afraid to return.
Construction and Manufacturing Are in Trouble
Small business owners in the construction sector are among the most worried about the devastation effects of inflation. These businesspeople include general contractors, and others who specialize in renovation and remodeling. Ironically, many of these business owners experienced a boom during COVID, but now they’re having trouble moving ahead into this transition out of the COVID Era.
One poll taker in construction illustrated his situation:
“Costs and shortages are already appearing in the construction industry. When shortages appear you can expect further cost increases. Inflation is on it’s way, which can lead to unemployment, too.”
And several media outlets have reported on the skyrocketing price of lumber, which is now up more than 280%, according to this Fortune article. Given the price of lumber, we’ll be hearing a lot more from frustrated small business owners in the construction industry over the next few months.
Meanwhile, the majority of manufacturers taking the poll reported challenges with increased trucking expenses and difficulty in accessing some of the raw materials they need to create products. This, of course, results in scarcity and will force them to boost prices, which will affect anyone who needs their products from retailers to restaurants, and home builders to real estate agents.
The following chart covers a range of industries where small business owners feel most worried that inflation will curtail their recovery.
To find out a lot more, click the poll.
And this mess has only just begun. Biden plans to destroy us with astronomical spending and high taxes.
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