better or what? i don t think that is the answer, neil. i think we have been so consumed and overwhelmed quite frankly with the pandemic itself, with the impact of the virus on the workplace that we re not taking enough time as we had to do back then to get underneath some other issues now. to be very clear about what is really happening with the labor and shortages and why workers are not coming back to work. so you know, in addition to the pandemic, you ve got to pay attention now to the fact that in this jobs report in particular, the government education sector was particularly impacted. that s women. there s issues like child care. a lot of workers that are still trying to reevaluate do they want to come back in at this point or wait for better opportunities. neil: you think, secretary, they hold off because we ve been too generous? the president thinks more
year. that last yellow bar is the forecast for the month of january. this has been the missing link, 19 months into a recovery, why haven t we seen more jobs created? we ve got manufacturing activity at the strongest in seven years, we ve got consumer spending starting to return, remember frugal fatigue we were talking about. you ve got commercial lending starting to thaw. but jobs and the housing market have been these two links that have not come back. you guys, jobs and your house, this is what you feel the job is the engine of your personal economy and the house is what you live in. this is why so many tell us this is why you don t feel like the economy is coming back for you. i want to make a note on the jobs market, the housing market for veterans. one number i ve been watching in the jobs report in particular, is the unemployment rate for iraq war veterans. it s higher than the national average, almost 12%. it s a problem. you ve also got a report from realty trac in usa today