Job market improves, with overall unemployment reaching a three-year minimum, while the legal services sector registers modest growth.
In a positive development for the US economy, the unemployment rate fell to 8.5 percent in December 2022, marking the lowest level since February 2009. This significant improvement comes after a period of slow recovery from the Great Recession, which officially ended in June 2009 but left a prolonged and uneven recovery in its wake.
The strong employment growth of 200,000 jobs in December 2022, as reported by the U.S. Department of Labor, is a promising sign of the economy's resilience. However, the recovery has been far from smooth. Businesses, still grappling with reduced demand and cautious investment, had cut jobs during and after the recession. Private-sector investment remained depressed due to low customer demand and high household saving rates, limiting employment growth.
The aftermath of the housing bubble burst and subsequent financial crisis starting in 2007–2008 played a significant role in the job losses in December 2011. The widespread difficulty for banks and businesses forced cost-cutting measures, including layoffs. Additionally, a large private-sector financial surplus, due in part to lack of customers and market uncertainty, contributed to slow job growth. Structural factors such as technological change, competition from low-wage workers globally, and declining unionization also affected labor markets during this period.
The US labor market underwent a slow recovery after the recession, with unemployment peaking near 10% in 2009 and then gradually declining over the subsequent years. Job losses due to import competition and manufacturing shifts were largely offset by job gains from exports, but the recovery was hampered especially by the 2008 financial crisis effects and demand shortfalls. By around 2012 and into the mid-2010s, employment growth picked up as consumer confidence and business investment slowly improved, and unemployment continued its gradual decline toward pre-recession levels.
However, economic gains were uneven, with low-income families and certain demographic groups experiencing more severe and prolonged employment challenges.
In a move to ensure financial stability, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) has ruled that the nation's largest banks must create "living wills" to outline their dismantling in case of failure. This rule applies to 37 banks holding approximately 61 percent of a combined $4.14 trillion in government-protected assets. The aim is to prevent a repeat of the 2008 financial crisis and its devastating impact on employment and the economy.
- As the economy continues to recover, there might be a need for increased legal services to ensure compliance with policy-and-legislation, such as the implementation of the "living wills" that the FDIC has mandated for large banks.
- The uneven distribution of economic gains during the post-recession recovery period raised concerns in politics, leading to discussions about general-news topics such as the impact on low-income families and certain demographic groups.
