JANUARY 2022: The Unexpected Jobs Report

It felt like a scene out of Chicken Little throughout January, as expert economists warned the sky is falling with the upcoming jobs report. They feared that the Omicron variant forced employees to call out of work and those who didn’t have the benefits of paid sick not be counted as an employee. Yet, the payroll employment growth was three times higher than economists projected (467,000). What contributed to the strong labor force in January? Lars speaks with Michael Farren, an economist with The Mercatus Center at George Mason University.