Describe the impact of the unemployment policies during the pandemic on the number of insured unemployed. Examine the number of job openings relative to the number of unemployed. Characterize the current state of the labor market.

USE WEBSITE:

https://fred.stlouisfed.org/graph/?g=QhOh

https://fred.stlouisfed.org/graph/?g=QOFR

Levels, in thousands Feb-20 Apr-20 Apr-21 May-21 Apr-22 May-22 Change 4/21 to 4/22 Working Age Population 259,628 259,896 261,103 261,210 263,559 263,679 Labor Force 164,583 156,358 160,978 160,801 164,046 164,376 Employed 158,866 133,320 151,259 151,550 158,105 158,426 6,846 Unemployed 5,717 23,038 9,719 9,251 5,941 5,950 Not in Labor Force 95,045 103,538 100,125 100,409 99,513 99,302 Changes, in thousands Change Change Change Change 2/20 to 4/20 4/20 to 5/21 5/21 to 5/22 2/20 to 5/22 Working Age Population 268 1,314 2,469 4,051 Labor Force (8,225) 4,443 3,575 (207) Employed (25,546) 18,230 6,876 (440) Unemployed 17,321 (13,787) (3,301) 233 Not in Labor Force 8,493 (3,129) (1,107) 4,257 Rates, percent Unemployment Rate 3.5% 14.7% 6.0% 5.8% 3.6% 3.6% Labor Force Paricipation rate 63.4% 60.2% 61.7% 61.6% 62.2% 62.3% Employment-Population Ratio 61.2% 51.3% 57.9% 58.0% 60.0% 60.1% Levels, in thousands Feb-20 Apr-20 Apr-21 Apr-22 May-22 Change May-21 4/21 to 4/22 Employment 152,504 130,513 144,694 145,141 151,292 151,682 6,598 Total Hires over 12 months ending in April 78,000 Total Separations over 12 months ending in April 71,600 Net Employment Change 6,400