Washington (AFP)

The unemployed are still in the millions in the United States, more than a year after the outbreak of Covid-19.

However, many employers are struggling to recruit: fear of being infected, problem with childcare or generous unemployment benefits hamper candidates.

"It is a paradox of this Covid crisis. We have, and we risk having in the coming months, an imbalance between job offers and demand", explains Gregory Daco, analyst for Oxford Economics, in an interview with AFP.

Indeed, the US economy is now on the recovery ramp and companies are starting to recruit to meet growing demand.

But not all unemployed people are ready to return to work.

“The main problem is just that we still have a pandemic,” says Julia Pollak, economist for job search site ZipRecruiter.

More than a quarter (26%) of the American population is now fully immunized.

This is a significant share, compared to Europe for example, but it also means that three quarters of Americans are still worried about getting sick.

Recruiters also face lingering childcare issues, as just over half of schools nationwide are re-admitting children full-time, according to data from FutureEd, a university think tank. Georgetown, Washington.

- "Best conditions" -

Many sectors are affected, notes Gregory Daco: retail, catering, hotels, leisure.

"Hiring remains a real challenge, especially for low-wage or hourly workers," observed the US Central Bank (Fed) in a survey of businesses between late February and early April.

A hotelier in the region of Richmond, Virginia, in the eastern United States, explained that he had "vacancies for cleaning staff but little interest from workers for these jobs".

With additional unemployment benefits of $ 300 per week paid until the end of August to all unemployed and self-employed workers, some unemployed people are under less pressure to quickly find a job.

Others face "reductions in transit schedules" or "job search fatigue," say northern Chicago-area employers, cited by Fed study .

To these concrete barriers is added another, more unexpected: the fear of being disappointed again at work after a sudden dismissal.

"A bit like after a divorce, when you are afraid of meeting someone again and remarrying," notes Julia Pollak.

The dismissed workers "are in no hurry to find themselves again in a vulnerable position, when unemployment benefits (...) give them a little more time to find something with better conditions," she said.

- Wage increase -

Some Americans have also developed a taste for teleworking, which makes it possible to better combine professional and family life by avoiding wasting one or two hours a day in transport.

"Many people who have never worked remotely, employed in catering, delivery, warehouses, are waiting for an opportunity to telework" and "the possibility of obtaining such an offer has increased", notes Julia Pollak.

This risks further penalizing restaurants, which are preparing for a strong spring and summer rebound, after having particularly suffered from this year of crisis.

"As the weather improves and restrictions are relaxed by states, restaurant footfall will increase and this will amplify the need for employees," said Hudson Riehle, research manager for the National Restaurant Owners Federation. , in an email to AFP.

A tall order, "with fewer people in the labor market, (government) support still in place, workers' concerns for their health and much greater competition with other sectors to (attract) workers ", he sums up.

The wages offered will therefore be part of the equation.

Especially since the distribution giants Amazon, Costco, Target and Walmart have already announced increases in remuneration.

The Covid-19 destroyed 22 million jobs in the United States, more than half of which - 14 million - have since been recreated.

But nearly 17 million Americans still receive unemployment benefit, if you count all the self-employed.

© 2021 AFP