Discussion Paper

How Have the Euro Area and U.S. Labor Market Recoveries Differed?

Abstract: The initial phase of the pandemic saw the euro area and U.S unemployment rates behave quite differently, with the rate for the United States rising much more dramatically than the euro area rate. Two years on, the rates for both regions are back near pre-pandemic levels. A key difference, though, is that U.S. employment levels were down by 3.0 million jobs in 2021:Q4 relative to pre-pandemic levels, while the number of euro area jobs was up 600,000. A look at employment by industry shows that both regions had large shortfalls in the accommodation and food services industries, as expected. A key difference is the government sector, with the number of those jobs in the euro area up by 1.5 million, while the government sector in the United States shed 600,000.

Keywords: labor markets; United States; euro area; employment; unemployment rates; public sector; government; leisure; hospitality; pandemic; recovery; COVID-19; job retention schemes;

JEL Classification: J21; J00;

Bibliographic Information

Provider: Federal Reserve Bank of New York

Part of Series: Liberty Street Economics

Publication Date: 2022-03-30

Number: 20220330