Job Opening at US Stayed Record High

Job openings held at a record high of 9.2 million in May while resignations dropped slightly from a historic peak.The number of open Job on the final business day of May changed little from the peak set in April.The number of “quits” fell to 3.6 million from a record high of 3.9 million in April, but remained well above levels seen earlier in the year.Daniel Zhao, senior economist at Glassdoor said that it is a Job seeker’s market as worker demand remains at record highs. Elevated quits emphasize that labor shortages are a double whammy for employers. It is not just harder to hire workers, it’s also harder to retain them.

The U.S. added 850,000 Job in June, rising sharply from gains of 583,000 in May and 278,000 in April, as industries hit hardest by the pandemic began hiring in droves. Even so, businesses in the leisure, hospitality and retail industries have struggled to bring in enough workers to keep up with soaring consumer demand.

Restaurants, bars and hotels created 89,000 new openings in May before hiring 340,000 workers in June, but were also one of the only sectors where resignations continued to rise. Zhao Said that the high record levels no longer imply the high level of quits means workers are still confident enough to leave their Job for a new one.Industries hit hard during the pandemic have seen higher levels of turnover, wage pressure and competition for a smaller pool of applicants. While the U.S. is 6.8 million Job down from February 2020, millions of Americans who lost their Job have yet to take to offers or even begin looking for jobs.

A lack of child care options, health concerns and a hesitance to take high-intensity Job with relatively lower pay are among some obstacles keeping potential workers on the sidelines.It will likely take another month, however, to assess the impact of 26 states pulling out of pandemic-expanded unemployment benefits at the end of last month.