Posted on 09/08/2021 9:39:17 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
There was an absolute shocker in today's JOLTs report.
While consensus was expecting the BLS to report a print of 10MM in July job openings, nobody - not even the most optimistic whispers - was prepared for the shocking 10.934 million job openings that hit the tape at 10am ET sharp. This unprecedented number of job openings was made possible as more than 4.2 million openings were added in the past 7 months, with every single month of 2021 seeing an increase in job openings, the longest such stretch in history.
Looking at the details, the increase in job openings was driven by a number of industries, with the largest increases in health care and social assistance (+294,000); finance and insurance (+116,000); and accommodation and food services (+115,000).
The record number of job openings stands out in stark contrast against the countless Americans who are still collecting various pandemic emergency unemployment claims, which in the latest week was just above 12 million.
But the biggest shocker is that while we were expecting the BLS to report that there were some 1.7MM more job openings than unemployed workers, a testament to just how broken, supply constrained and/or overheating the US job market is, the actual number meant that there were a record 2.232 million more job openings (10.934MM) compared to the total number of unemployed people which as of August was 8.384 million.
Obviously, with (way) more job openings than unemployed workers, this meant that in June there were again far less than 1 unemployed workers (0.7959 to be exact) for every job opening, down from 0.94 in June, and from a record 4.6 at the peak crisis moment last April.
Unlike last month when hiring hit a near record 6.8 million, in August some of the job openings came at the expense of a slowdown in hiring: in August the BLS reported that hiring dropped by a modest 160K to 6.667 million, as hires decreased in retail trade (-277,000), durable goods manufacturing (-41,000), and educational services (-23,000) while the number of hires increased in state and local government education (+33,000) and in federal government (+21,000).
Finally, and in a sign that the overheating in the labor market appears is nowhere close to ending, in July the level of quits - or people leaving their job voluntarily due to better prospects elsewhere - posted rose again, up by 103K and hitting the second highest on record at 3.977 million, just below the all time high of 3.992 million in April. The number of quits increased in wholesale trade (+34,000) and in state and local government education (+14,000). Quits decreased in transportation, warehousing, and utilities (-25,000) and in federal government (-5,000).
While the latest JOLTS data validates skepticism about "transitory" inflation, as the insufficient pool of labor is obviously inflationary if it continues and will lead to mare wage hikes, there is one caveat: with all emergency unemployment benefits officially expiring this week, it is likely that many of those job openings will be filled as millions of people currently receiving government welfare have to rejoin the labor force leading to a sharp drop in job openings, assuming of course that the mu covid vadiant (now that the receding delta variant is no longer scary enough) won't shut down the economy again in the coming weeks.
I must be looking at the wrong classified job postings. I had no idea that there was a job market for assassins.
But of course I have been known to make a few misteaks now an then.
;)
It’s gonna get worse when they put in the vaccine mandate. The already employed will be leaving their companies in droves.
True, I think the clock is ticking for people who want to get a welcome back to work.
It actually reached its fever-peak last month, where I am, but there is still the welcome mat out for those wanting to work.
I tell folks, the time to get to work is Now, three weeks ago if you could manage it, but definitely Now is the time.
Good one!
Gazillions of workers just got kicked off unemployment and I’d guess are technically no longer counted as unemployed. All kinds of gig workers, former small business people, etc., who were on PUA.
And those who stay will be leaving in ambulances.
They let her go that morning.
One of the guys said she probably is just going to go back on unemployment again now that she worked for two days.
This is NH where the enhanced benefits ended in June.
Statewide unemployment rate is 2.5%.
The gov’t doesn’t want to solve the problem. In the late 1960’s, the Manpower Development and Training Act (MDTA) provided federal funds for programs to retrain unemployed people. Trenton (Newark??) was seeing abandoned properties as people fled to the suburbs. They created a program where the city let the trade unions repair the properties provided they took on apprentice workers from the unemployment pool. The city gave them funds for materials and the house to fix. When the project was finished, the city sold the houses to low income groups and used those funds to rehab the next set of houses. It was a win-win because the unions got new members, the unemployed got skilled jobs with good pay, and the city got to put the rehabbed houses on the tax roles. It was so successful, the Feds stepped in and killed the MDTA. No explanation given.
Lazy folks is not the only reason the listed positions are not being filled.
How many of those job openings are not really available. I’m not looking now, but when I was looking as well as listening to HR folks in the company I was in; many posted openings were not actively being filled and those that were many were on the slow path by HR to be filled.
Another reason posted above could be that folks do not want to mess with the covid regulations. A large portions of the opening around here are health care.
Good observation, especially in today's world where employees are more concerned with time off than performance and loyalty. That's why I generally place my bets on people with experience who have demonstrated their value, often people over 50 years old who are typically extremely dependable, knowledgeable, adaptable and willing to get the job done.
Opps...skills...
Nobody is h6oing back to work. People are still spending their benefits like drunken sailors..Those jobs are not going to be filled. IE:this is a confirmed fact. Myrtle Beach hotels are booked solid thru October. Everyone is still on vaca.
My wife works at a small CVS.
She has been there four years.
We had a fun exercise counting employee turnover—it was one employee every three months.
More than half of the turnover was employees who kept “calling out” until the managers got sick and tired of it.
The embargo on older white males is still in place. I'm still experiencing this while I'm trying to upgrade my current employment.
Flimsey Grahamnesty and the rest of the Bush League Republicans want to import more cheap labor.
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I agree but at the same time have to recognize that our “education system” isn’t exactly producing a lot of people with useful skills and knowledge.
Could be time to claim some Native American or Hispanic heritage.
They are not gonna give you a DNA test...
;-)
The embargo on older white males is still in place.
*************
That is absolutely true. White males are subject to enormous discrimination and face racial hiring quotas that work against them. This has been going on for some time.
Qualifications cannot compete with political correctness.
The Royal Oak charcoal plant near me is advertising for help on the radio. Unskilled laborers, machine operators. Starting pay $15.51 and up.
Gee, I wonder why there are suddenly so many healthcare openings?
Hmmm...I’m suspended on 10/1 and terminated on 11/1 from my hospital job if I don’t submit to the experimental gene therapy. Maybe there are others in the same predicament.
Cloward-Pivin in effect.
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