According to various reports and US recovering economic growth claims, US economy is poised for a strong recovery from the coronavirus pandemic. But all may not be as rosy it might seem; US economy faces fresh risks from a hiring shortage and a surge in consumer prices. The insight comes after a survey of American CFOs, surveyed by the Deloitte Global CFO Program was conducted. The study was conducted between May 3-14 and involved 138 CFOs, 70% from public companies and 30% from privately held companies.
According to the survey, 75% of CFOs surveyed by the Deloitte Global CFO Program maintained that economic conditions in North America are “good”. It is to be noted that it is an increase from 29% in the first three months of the year. But according to the survey, several contentious issues of inflation have emerged as new threats to the outlook.
According to the respondents, the most worrisome internal economic risk is talent, including recruiting and retention, skills development, capacity and availability. The CFOs stated that economic stability and inflation were the most concerning external risks. According to the CFOs, this was followed by potential changes in government policies and a resurgence of COVID-19.
The report that was released on Monday maintained that “Amid the improving economy and many companies’ plans to reopen offices and expand operations, CFOs expressed concerns over changes in employees’ preferences for workplace and work style. They also report concerns over recruiting, retaining, and developing talent, as well as capacity and labor shortages,”.
It is to be noted that the analysis came on the heels of lackluster job growth in both April and May, despite a record number of open positions. Taking the chance to criticize the Biden policies, Republican lawmakers and other critics blamed the Biden administration’s stimulus bill. According to the critics administration’s stimulus bill had boosted state unemployment benefits by an extra $300 a week, for the anemic hiring figures which possibly had been responsible for a low job growth.
According to the reports, at least 25 states, all led by GOP governors, have announced plans to end the federal benefit over the summer. This according to the administration will be a move they say to help businesses that are struggling to hire workers.
According to experts, there are multiple reasons for the anemic job growth. The reasons include safety concerns over contracting COVID-19, a lack of child care options and the boosted jobless aid.
Biden stated that “A temporary boost in unemployment benefits that we enacted helped people who lost their jobs through no fault of their own, and who still may be in the process of getting vaccinated,”. He added that “But it’s going to expire in 90 days — it makes sense it expires in 90 days.”