The Bureau of Labor Statistics says that the number of jobs openings by the end of April rose to a record 9.3 million, with a record high number of people quitting and a record low number of people being fired.
The number of Americans quitting their jobs rose 11% to almost 4 million in April, the highest figure in records going back to 2000.
Breaking News
Record-Shattering Job Openings
9.3 million jobs open pic.twitter.com/muwGGF5ng4— Charles V Payne (@cvpayne) June 8, 2021
“Within separations,” says the BLS, “the quits rate reached a series high of 2.7 percent while the layoffs and discharges rate decreased to a series low of 1.0 percent.”
The report further highlights the strength of the demand side of the labor market, as 9.3 million people remain unemployed despite the high number of available jobs.
“More than a year after horrific job losses and wage cuts, job seekers have a strong hand in the labor market again. Demand for workers is surging as the broader economy starts to emerge from the pandemic,” said Nick Bunker, director of the Hiring Lab. “At the same time, supply is restrained as workers are slow to find their post-pandemic normal. The result is a labor market that has snapped back quicker than many expected.”
Unemployment is “down considerably from its recent highs in April 2020 but remain well above their levels prior to the coronavirus,” says the BLS Employment Situation Report.
The reports will likely add fuel to the debate about the effect of extended unemployment benefits and generous pandemic stimulus measures on the employment market and the recovery.
The National Federation of Independent Business says that 48% of members nationwide have unfilled jobs, according to The Center Square.
Prior to the pandemic, there were 7.2 million available jobs according to the St Louis Federal Reserve Bank.
Nobody Wants To Work: Job Openings Soar To All Time High 9.3 Million As Record Numbers Quit Their Job https://t.co/LHn7PML215
— zerohedge (@zerohedge) June 8, 2021
Critics have said that the extra pandemic spending would interfere with job creation, which is the engine for the economy.
“Some of the latest stimulus plans are designed as permanent benefit expansions that have little to do with the pandemic in the first place,” warned Matt Weidinger of the American Enterprise Institute in February.
In April and May, the U.S. economy created far fewer jobs than expected, leading many Republican-led states to begin to pare back jobless benefits in order to encourage people to look for work.
