The rise in hiring of American employers which picked up with 531,000 jobs last month plus employers and employees giving uncommon reasons to get to work or not work at all has been something rarely seen in the United States economy.

The rise in employment, nevertheless, could signal that the economy is gaining traction after overcoming a virus-induced lull.

The Labor Department’s weekly report also indicated that the unemployment rate dropped from 4.8% in September to 4.6% last month.

Though it is a relatively low level, it is still significantly higher than the 3.5% pre-pandemic unemployment rate.

As it turns out, job increases in August and September weren’t quite as weak as originally reported.

A combined 235,000 additional jobs in government posts were estimated by the government for those two months.

Taking everything into account, the figures show that the economy is slowly returning to growth.

Rise in Hiring Despite Corvid-19 Surge

Several industries are seeing increases in hiring as a result of healthy consumer spending.

However, despite COVID-19’s impacts, supply shortages persist, inflation is accelerating, and a large number of people cannot find employment.

Nevertheless, there has been a gradual improvement in filling these near-record-high job postings by employers.

“This is the kind of recovery we can get when we are not sidelined by a surge in COVID cases,” explained Nick Bunker, director of economic research.

“The speed of employment gains has faltered at times this year, but the underlying momentum of the U.S. labor market is quite clear.”

Stocks went into record territory after Wall Street received a better-than-expected jobs report.

Friday’s closing prices saw the Dow Jones Industrial Average rise more than 200 points or approximately 0.6%.

Over the long run, however, inflation expectations have remained muted, leading to a dip in longer-term yields.

It appears that the economic recovery is on track according to most barometers.

A wide range of services companies has reported a sharp increase in sales, including retail, banking, and warehousing.

Last month, home sales soared for both new and existing homes.

Following three consecutive declines in consumer confidence, the number rose in October.

In the meantime, the country still lags behind by 4.2 million jobs the number it had before March 2020, when the pandemic flattened the economy.

People are still hesitant to travel, shop, dine out, and attend entertainment venues due to the virus’s effects.

Only government employers, mostly in education, reported job losses in October, despite a pickup in hiring across nearly every industry.

There was an increase of 54,000 jobs in shipping and warehousing. Tourism, which includes hotels, bars, restaurants, and entertainment venues, amassed 164,000 new jobs.

Manufacturers added 60,000 units, the largest number since June 2020, despite struggling with supply shortages.

In addition, employers raised wages to compete with an increasingly scarce pool of applicants.

In October, the average hourly wage rose 4.9% over a year ago. In September, it rose 4.6%.

Despite a gain this strong, still, the consumer inflation has recently surged.

Economic growth is hampered by those price increases.

More so, millions of families have faced rising foodstuff costs, heating oil costs, rent increases, and furniture costs.

In September, prices rose by 4.4% over a year ago, the largest jump in 30 years.

Those Who Left their Job, Get Substantial Pay Rise Later Despite Employers Lacklustre in Recruitment

Some of the biggest beneficiaries of pay raises are those who are leaving jobs in record numbers in order to take new jobs.

Christian Frink has started working at a digital consulting firm as a business analyst.

As part of his new position, Frink, 27, of Ferndale, Michigan, helps business clients determine the technology that will help them grow.

Like many other people during COVID, Frink left his job in marketing earlier this year because he was burnt out.

In the spring and summer, he worked for Door Dash to earn some money while looking for new employment.

He found out that employers were complaining about a labor shortage, but that without a college degree they would not hire anyone.

Frink later attended Tech Elevator boot camp this past summer and got his new job after taking coding classes.

His income has increased by 35% since he left his previous job, and he said he is “blown away” to have health insurance coverage and doesn’t have to wait months to get it.

The Best Job Market for Workers in Record Times

Nonetheless, pay raises aren’t just reaching to job switchers.

The job market for workers is the best he has seen in his 22-year career, said Chad Leibundguth, a regional director with Robert Half staffing agency in Tampa.

The average customer service position in Florida cost $14 an hour before the pandemic, he said.

“Nowadays,” he said, “you’ve got to be closer to $20 an hour because people have options.”

Despite long periods without work, job prospects are improving for most people.

In recent months, the number of long-term jobless workers has declined dramatically.

In April, there were 4.2 million long-term jobless workers; there were 2.3 million by October.

Those figures are still double of what they were pre-recession.

The useful information here is that employers aren’t usually inclined to hire people who haven’t held their jobs for a long time.

Though the job market has become more competitive, while disparities remains.

As an example, the Black unemployment rate remained at 7.9% in October, while the white unemployment rate decreased to 4% from 4.2%.

From 6.3% to 5.9%, the Latino unemployment rate dropped.

In a similar manner, white-collar jobs in professional services like IT, architecture, and engineering have nearly returned to pre-pandemic levels.

Meanwhile, leisure and hospitality still have 1.4 million fewer jobs.

Aura in Boston, a company with 800 employees, has 140 open positions, mostly in software development, its CEO Hari Ravichandran disclosed.

One hundred and seventy-five of Ravi’s employees never work in a company building on a regular basis.

Even so, hiring is still a challenge.

It is disappointing to learn that the number of employees in October remained unchanged.

That suggested that the reopening of schools in September, the waning of the virus, and the expiration of a $300-a-week federal unemployment supplement have yet to coax many people off the sidelines of the job market in large numbers.

Difficulties of Job Seekers Caused by the Pandemic

Drawing many people back into the workforce after recessions is typically a prolonged process.

There are now 7.4 million people officially out of work — just 1.7 million more than in February 2020, before the pandemic struck the economy.

However, millions of workers who lost their jobs during the recession have given up looking for work, and employers may have to increase pay, according to labor economist Aaron Sojourner at the University of Minnesota.

Some companies, however, still struggle to hire enough workers.

During the pandemic, a lot of parents, especially mothers, left their jobs to care for their children or other relatives, and haven’t returned.

However, there was a slight improvement last month.

Following two months of decline, the percentage of women employed or looking for work has increased.

During the pandemic, Kourtni Graves of Detroit was out of work due to her parental duties.

Since the daycare she had previously work for closed a year ago, she no longer had the time to work as an administrative assistant.

She also was taking care of her twin girls, who are 5 years old.

The 27-year-old searched for work-from-home jobs, but a lot of employers refused to accommodate her needs.

“They don’t want you to have to pick up your kids from school,” particularly during training, she said.

“For me as their mom, I can’t do that.” She said the father of her children, who works in the auto industry, helps financially.

In the past week, Graves accepted a job at a clothing store after extending her job search due to the girls entering kindergarten.

With seven years of administrative experience, she feels overqualified for the clothing job.

Even so, she is glad to have a job.

“They’re paying pretty decent for retail,” she said. “It’s definitely been a struggle and a journey.”