Labor secretary said 194,000 jobs added in September were “not the best number”

Labor secretary Marty walshMarty Walsh’s 12:30 p.m. report from The Hill: Debt ceiling fight extends through December Said the 194,000 jobs added by the United States last month were “not the best number” as the economy struggles to recover amid a spike in COVID-19 cases driven by the delta variant.

Walsh said the United States had “work to do,” when asked about the below-expect August and September job reports during an interview with “Axios on HBO” aired on Sunday.

“There is no doubt that we have work to do. Number one, we’re still living with a pandemic, it’s a global pandemic, ”Walsh told Dan Primack of Axios.

“Also, people concerned about the delta variant, people concerned about their personal health, we have vaccinated people, unvaccinated people, vaccinated people worried about unvaccinated people,” he added.

Walsh’s comments come after the Labor Department said on Friday that the economy created 194,000 jobs in September, which was significantly lower than the roughly 500,000 new jobs economists expected.

The unemployment rate, however, fell 0.4 percentage points to 4.8%, but employment growth also declined for the second month in a row.

The weak September figures followed a lower than expected report in August, which saw just 366,000 jobs added as economists expected to see about 750,000 new jobs.

The disappointing numbers come as the United States experiences an increase in COVID-19 cases, largely due to the highly infectious delta variant, which is the dominant variant in the United States

By July, before the Delta variant took hold in the United States, the economy had created more than a million jobs.

When asked if the U.S. employment recovery has stalled, Walsh replied that he “no, he hasn’t stagnated at all,” saying he “is content with go forward”.

“Since President BidenJoe BidenBiden recalls General Odierno: “Some of our most poignant memories” Rebuilding better by investing in workers and communities Internal battles escalate over the Biden agenda MOREtook over, we had, you know, almost five million jobs added to the economy. If you look at the unemployment rate, it’s less than five percent, ”Walsh said.

When asked why so many people are still not working despite a large number of job offers, Walsh said he believes the explanation lies in the fact that people change their lives.

“One of the main reasons is, and again, no one has tested or verified it, I think it’s work-life balance,” Walsh said.

When pressed by Primack on what the “balance sheet” is since they don’t work, Walsh said “tthey look at their careers, and they just say ‘we were in a career before I wanted to get out of this career, I want to move on.’ ”

“People are going to have to reenter the labor market,” he added.

When asked how long unemployed people can wait and say they are looking for a job, Walsh replied that “these questions are asked every month.”

“What is the answer?” Primack asked.

“I don’t think there is an answer,” Walsh said.