The unemployment rate has returned to 2019 levels and wage increases for lower-income workers have reduced income gaps. Inflation, however, has posed a problem.
The country’s gross domestic product, or GDP, did drop in the first half of the year, but the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas argues that the U.S. likely did not fall into a recession.
Since the end of 2020, 8.5 million jobs have been created in the U.S. There were nearly 10.7 million job openings as of June 2022, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Associated Builders and Contractors in February 2022 predicted the need for 650,000 additional workers over the year to meet labor demand in the field.
Skilled workers are required to modernize roads, bridges, and energy production across the country, and 3,900 new jobs are projected for each billion in additional construction spending.