Even though the USN was down to 6 Essex class carriers we still had 6 or more of the Independence class light carriers as well as several dozen, at least, of escort carriers.
And as the Battle of Samar showed the CVEs could pack a punch.
The light carriers (CVL) were just a bit better than the escort carriers. The CVL air group was around 35 aircraft vs about 20 aircraft on a CVE. The CVLs chief asset was they could keep up with the Essex class carriers.
Regards
alfa6 ;>}
The CVEs were really underrated in most history books. They were vital in providing air cover for amphibious operations. In essence, nothing was out of range of American air power because we could bring it with us. Those CVEs did a great job of freeing up the fast carriers to roam farther afield and stand ready to fight the Japanese fleet if it showed up.