Job Growth

Economy & Inflation
Written By Alysha Rashid

Although job growth has slowed, employers added 209,000 jobs in June for a net growth of 1.7 million jobs in 2023.

Total jobs by month, U.S.

Jan 2000 - Jun 2023

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics. Note: Seasonally adjusted. Data for May 2023 and June 2023 are preliminary.

The nation gained 1.7 million jobs in the first six months of 2023 to reach a new record of 156.2 million jobs. Overall labor force participation has been increasing and is on par with pre-Covid rates.1 Black adults are now more likely to be participating in the labor force (62.6%) than white adults (62.3%).2,3 Many white men and older white women are reaching retirement or otherwise dropping out of the labor force.4

Despite rebounding overall labor force participation rates, employers continue to struggle to find workers, with nearly 2 job openings for every job seeker.5 A large part of the problem is that too many working-age Americans have died. In 2020-2021, approximately 800,000 working-age Americans died, in excess of expected, due to Covid and other causes (Drug overdose deaths).6

Together, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the Inflation Reduction Act are predicted to create over 2 million new jobs each year for 10 years.7,8 Ensuring that Americans are healthy enough to take advantage of these jobs will be essential. In addition, helping workers build the skills necessary to fill these jobs and to transition from old industries to new industries will require substantial retooling of current workforce development systems.9,10,11,12

  1. “Labor Force Participation Rate”. FRED. July, 2023. https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/CIVPART 

  2. “Labor Force Participation Rate - White”. FRED. July, 2023. https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/LNS11300003

  3. “Labor Force Participation Rate - Black or African American”. FRED. July, 2023. https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/LNS11300006 

  4. “Who’s missing from the post-pandemic labor force?” Bauer, Edelberg, Estep, and Hershbein. Brookings. April, 2023. https://www.brookings.edu/2023/04/04/whos-missing-from-the-post-pandemic-labor-force/

  5. “Unemployment Level/Job Openings: Nonfarm”. FRED. https://fred.stlouisfed.org/graph/?g=p9aA 

  6. “Inflation and the Labor Market”. Powell. Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. November, 2022. https://www.federalreserve.gov/newsevents/speech/powell20221130a.htm

  7. “Job Creation Estimates Through Proposed Inflation Reduction Act”. Pollen, Lala, Chakraborty. University of Massachusetts Amherst Political Economy Research Institute. August, 2022. https://peri.umass.edu/publication/item/1633-job-creation-estimates-through-proposed-inflation-reduction-act

  8. “15 Million Infrastructure Jobs.  Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce. https://cew.georgetown.edu/cew-reports/infrastructure/

  9. “Inflation Reduction Act Benefits: Good Paying Jobs and Revitalized U.S. Manufacturing”. Spengeman. Forbes. September, 2022. https://www.forbes.com/sites/energyinnovation/2022/09/28/inflation-reduction-act-benefits-good-paying-jobs-and-revitalized-us-manufacturing/?sh=7820165f6ff9

  10. “The Insightful Leader Live: What You Need to Know about the New Climate Bill. Kellogg Insight. October, 2022. https://insight.kellogg.northwestern.edu/webinars/the-insightful-leader-live-new-climate-bill

  11. “Biden needs to create an infrastructure talent pipeline, not just more jobs”. Kane. Brookings. January, 2021. https://www.brookings.edu/blog/the-avenue/2021/01/29/biden-needs-to-create-an-infrastructure-talent-pipeline-not-just-more-jobs/

  12. “Telecommunications Workforce: Additional Workers Will Be Needed to Deploy Broadband, but Concerns Exist About Availability”. U.S. Government Accountability Office. December, 2022. https://www.gao.gov/assets/gao-23-105626.pdf

Alysha Rashid
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