With millions of people still out of work during the pandemic, Friday’s mediocre jobs report puzzled many analysts who expected hundreds of thousands more new jobs.

Directions: Read the summary, watch the video and answer the discussion questions below. To read the transcript of the video above, click here.

May 8, 2021 video and resource materials from PBS NewsHour. Find the original story at PBS NewsHour Extra.

Summary: 

• Analysts expected hundreds of thousands more new jobs to have been created as the U.S. emerges from pandemic lockdown measures and consumers return to spending.
• President Joe Biden has made the case that additional federal spending on infrastructure and other programs could help add jobs and help the economy recover more quickly.
• Some critics, however, believe that stimulus checks and other federal programs like unemployment insurance benefits have made returning to work less attractive for some potential new employees.

Discussion: 

Warm up questions: Have your students identify the 5Ws and an H:

• Who is interviewed in this piece and what are their backgrounds?
• Why did experts expect more new jobs in the month of April?
• What are some of the reasons these experts think the jobs report isn’t worth panicking over?
• How does the Biden administration hope to stimulate more hiring and a faster growing economy?
• When do the experts interviewed here expect more workers to help fill the demand for work in the market?

Then have students share with the class or through a Learning Management System (LMS).

Focus question: What actions do you think local officials could take to help boost hiring and the local economy?

Media literacy: Why do you think the producers chose to interview the two experts in this piece? What perspectives do you think they represent?

Check out our Daily News Story collection, or find more at PBS NewsHour Extra.