More people working likely to support food spending

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More people working likely to support food spending

A White House adviser says the latest jobs report shows supply chains are continuing to recover from the pandemic.

Cecilia Rouse, chair of the White House’s Council of Economic Advisers, tells Brownfield the nation’s employment rate continued to grow in April while unemployment held steady.

“With people joining the workforce, it means that they will have money to spend on food, but we recognize that food prices are a challenge, and the President is doing what he can to try to address that kind of inflation,” she says.

Rouse says President Biden is focused on policies that benefit rural communities and drive job growth.

“Over the past year, in 2021, there were more jobs created in rural communities than in any year in the past two decades,” she adds.

Hourly wage rates were up 5.5 percent over the last year, still not high enough to cover rising costs from inflation. 

Rouse credits the American Rescue Plan, efforts at the ports, and other federal assistance for supporting job growth.