The US economy created a staggering 916,000 new jobs in March, according to the latest report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That staggering number, combined with a national unemployment rate of just 6%, suggests a continuation of the rapid recovery from the coronavirus pandemic that began last fall.
State Labor Department data released late last month shows that the recovery has not been smooth. The unemployment rates in California, Hawaii, New York, and Connecticut are all above 8%, while the rates in Utah, Nebraska, Idaho, and a number of other red states are below 4%. The rate in South Dakota, where coronavirus policies have been criticized for their supposed laxity, is just 2.9%.
The apparently geographically inconsistent nature of the economic recovery is a striking testimony to what is really going on in the national economy right now. The national numbers are as good as they are despite the tenacious determination of democratic governors to keep their states’ economies closed for irrational fear. Even though vaccinations and improved COVID-19 treatments make the virus less threatening than ever, they persist in their folly.
But there is no question that the strong economic figures highlight and confirm another important point. The US economy is recovering rapidly. Even if payments to companies were justified in return for the government forcing them to shut down, it is clear at this point that further stimulus is not needed. The economy is bringing back lost jobs at a rapid pace and doesn’t need any help from President Joe Biden or others who once claimed they could “rebuild them better”.
It’s hard for bureaucrats to admit, but their economic planning conceit is just that. Long before Biden’s election, the US economy was well built, all without his help.
The new economic figures are cause for celebration. Everyone should be happy, including a Biden government that wants to recognize every improvement. But they are also a reason to give up any plans to reorganize or restore a free market economy. What is not broken does not need to be repaired. The economy doesn’t need help in recovery from bureaucrats or big governments.
