There are valid reasons for the glaring disparity between the expected number of new jobs created and the reality. Some of the blame is being put on the scarcity of workers.
Parents are finding it exceedingly hard to juggle their jobs, provide child care and homeschool their children, as many public schools shut down in-classroom studies. Having to choose between working, searching for a job or taking care of their kids, many mothers elected to opt out of the job market.
Some older workers, perhaps due to ageism, couldn't find jobs, felt frustrated and left the job market altogether. Others, who were more fortunate, benefited from the booming stock market and increases in real estate and home prices, contributing to about 1.2 million older Americans deciding to cash in their chips and take an early retirement.
White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre said about the matter,"We recognize that the labor supply has been affected by the pandemic, [but] are seeing little evidence though that enhanced unemployment benefits are currently affecting Americans' willingness to work." While this is easy to say, for many companies, particularly mom-and-pop businesses, which represent a significant amount of jobs, they don’t have huge financial resources—like Amazon, Apple and Facebook—and simply can’t afford it. Small and midsize businesses rely upon razor-thin profit margins and don’t have the ability to increase salaries. We’ve already seen tens of thousands of businesses permanently close during the pandemic, as they couldn’t afford to wait things out.