US jobseekers have a record 10 million openings to choose from – but why?

This article is brought to you thanks to the collaboration of The European Sting with the World Economic Forum.

Author: David Elliott, Senior Writer, Formative Content

• America had a record 10.1 million job openings in June.
• It came as businesses reported struggling to hire enough staff to fill vacancies.
• A rising quit rate could suggest workers are more confident about future job prospects.

​​Jobseekers might consider more opportunities a good thing. But what happens if employers can’t fill those positions?

It’s a question being asked in the United States as the country battles the disruptions caused by the pandemic.

There were a record 10.1 million job openings in the US in June, the latest Bureau of Labor Statistics figures show. This was up from 9.2 million openings the previous month, with the largest increases in professional and business services, retail trade, and accommodation and food services.

At the same time, lay-offs remained at an all-time-low level of 0.9% first recorded in May.

And the number of workers quitting their jobs rose to a lofty 2.7%. In fact, Americans have recently been voluntarily waving goodbye to their employers more than at any other time in the past 20 years.

Hiring and firing

Eye-catching stats, but what do they mean in the real world? Job openings have surged as the country has reopened sectors shuttered by the pandemic, and the June figures were a whole million higher than economists were expecting.

For many Americans, it’s a stark contrast to early 2020 when millions lost their livelihoods and unemployment rose higher in three months than it did in two years of the Great Recession of 2007-2009.

But the numbers also show a gap between worker supply and employer demand. With 8.7 million Americans unemployed, there are more jobs open than potential people to fill them – and businesses are reporting difficulty finding workers.

Enhanced incentives

One reported factor is a mismatch between the industries in which people want to work and those that are hiring. And some experts say this trend could in part be due to people being buoyed by the amount of available opportunities, while others are feeling more comfortable about resigning from their jobs.

Businesses are responding by offering incentives including higher wages, sign-on bonuses and flexible work options to attract and retain staff. More than 40% of employers say they are offering enhanced benefits.

Other factors keeping people out of the workforce, including fear of new COVID-19 variants and childcare issues, will also need to be resolved.

The road to recovery

Looking at the bigger picture, some economists say that a rise in hiring and that record-low lay-off rate are promising signs of a continuing economic recovery in the US.

And while it poses immediate problems for employers, some say a high quit rate could be a sign of a healthy labour market, with people moving towards work more suited to their skills and interests.

But there are still more than 3 million people experiencing long-term unemployment in the US. And, overall, there are 5.7 million fewer jobs, on a seasonally adjusted basis, than there were before COVID-19 arrived in the country.

Job creation is a priority

Unemployment due to the effects of COVID-19 is being experienced the world over.

The International Labour Organization has forecast that the economic fallout of the pandemic could contribute to the unemployment of more than 200 million people globally next year. health and healthcare, COVID

How has the Forum navigated the global response to COVID-19?

One year on: we look back at how the Forum’s networks have navigated the global response to COVID-19.

Using a multistakeholder approach, the Forum and its partners through its COVID Action Platform have provided countless solutions to navigate the COVID-19 pandemic worldwide, protecting lives and livelihoods.How can we collaborate to stop the spread of COVID-19?

Throughout 2020, along with launching its COVID Action Platform, the Forum and its Partners launched more than 40 initiatives in response to the pandemic.

The work continues. As one example, the COVID Response Alliance for Social Entrepreneurs is supporting 90,000 social entrepreneurs, with an impact on 1.4 billion people, working to serve the needs of excluded, marginalized and vulnerable groups in more than 190 countries.

Read more about the COVID-19 Tools Accelerator, our support of GAVI, the Vaccine Alliance, the Coalition for Epidemics Preparedness and Innovations (CEPI), and the COVAX initiative and innovative approaches to solve the pandemic, like our Common Trust Network – aiming to help roll out a “digital passport” in our Impact Story.

While the world will move past the current health crisis, the UN agency says, five years of progress towards stamping out poverty have also been undone.

A deliberate effort to boost the creation of decent jobs, overcoming vaccine inequity and helping the most vulnerable sectors and members of society recover are priorities, it adds.