Ex-Trump economist warns September jobs reports shows the worker shortage is 'a real curse'

On a "Mornings with Maria" economist panel Friday, former Trump administration economic adviser Steve Moore raised concerns around a nearly unchanged labor participation rate in the September jobs report, and argued the worker shortage is becoming "a real curse" for the U.S. economy.

U.S. JOB GROWTH SLOWS AGAIN IN SEPTEMBER WITH JUST 263,000 POSITIONS ADDED

STEVE MOORE: The fact that we have the same unemployment rate today as we had at the height of the boom in the Trump years, there's one big difference between the 3.5% unemployment rate then and the 3.5% unemployment rate we have today. And the difference is 4 million workers, we had 4 million more people in the workforce adjusted for the labor force participation rate. And so, there is a huge shortage of workers in this country right now, it's becoming a real curse.

And now, why is it happening? I can explain this very easily... Even when you adjust for the fact that we've gotten rid of the extra unemployment benefits, when you include the rental assistance, the increase in food stamps, the increase in $300 per child tax credits, all of these things – in a state like Massachusetts, you can have two parents and two kids, nobody working, not a single hour, and they can get $90,000 to $100,000 in benefits. It's crazy.

And I think what happened is during the pandemic, a lot of people obviously were laid off from their jobs when we shut down businesses, and just so many of those people haven't come back. Let's say you're a truck driver, you make $90,000 a year or $80,000 a year, you can get $60,000 to $70,000 for sitting at home. That's a tough job. Try to get an electrician. Try to get a try to get a delivery person. Try to get somebody who will do any kind of work around your home. You can't find a plumber. It's unbelievable. Where are the workers?

WATCH THE FULL INTERVIEW BELOW