Despite Great Jobs Number, Millions Missed Work in January Because of OmicronJohn Carney 4 Feb 2022
The much better than expected jobs numbers for January belie the harsh reality that omicron sidelined millions of American workers last month, likely worsening supply chain stresses, shortages, and inflation.
The economy added 476,000 jobs as employers went on a hiring spree while keeping many workers who got sick on their payrolls. Unexpected strength in hiring in bars and restaurants, offices, and retail seemed to demonstrate that this wave of Covid-19 infections had far less of an impact on how Americans carried on with their lives than earlier waves.
This led to President Joe Biden to declare that America “is taking everything that Covid has to throw at us, and we’ve come back stronger.”
But that strength and the headline numbers disguised the real impact the spike in Covid-19 infections had on millions of workers, families, and businesses.
Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics show that 4.2 million workers who normally work full-time said they had missed work or been forced to work part time in January because they became ill. That’s by far a record high. In December, the number was just 2.4 million. A year ago, prior to the widespread rollout of the vaccines, just 1.8 million workers said they had been sidelined by illness. On average, since the mid-seventies, around 2.2 million workers miss work or work part-time because of illness in January.
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https://www.breitbart.com/economy/2022/02/04/despite-great-jobs-number-millions-missed-work-in-january-because-of-omicron/
