US job openings hit record 9.2 million in May – Daily Mail

The number of available jobs across the US rose to a record high of 9.2 million in May, which essentially means there is now a position available for every unemployed person across the country.

The 9.2 million jobs posted by employees on the last day of May was up slightly from the 9.19 million in April, a report from the Labor Department said. It is the most since record-keeping began in 2000.

About 9.5 million people were officially unemployed last month amid President Biden’s ongoing $300-a-week jobless benefits.

The number of people quitting their jobs slipped in May from a record high in April but remains elevated, according to the report. The percentage of workers getting laid off hit a record low in May. 

The fact there was one open job for every unemployed American in May is a situation that is far more typical of an economy with a much lower unemployment rate. 

The 9.2 million jobs posted by employees on the last day of May was up slightly from the 9.19 million in April, a report from the Labor Department said. Pictured is a Home Depot in California on Wednesday with ‘now hiring’ signs waving at the front

The unemployment rate in the US was still elevated at 5.9 percent in June.

In the first three months of the year, the government has estimated that the economy expanded at a brisk 6.4 percent annual rate. In the April-June quarter, the annual rate is thought to have reached a sizzling 10 percent. And for all of 2021, the Congressional Budget Office has projected that growth will amount to 6.7 percent. That would be the fastest calendar-year expansion since 1984.

The economy is recovering so quickly that many companies can’t find workers fast enough to meet their increased customer demand.

In June, employers added a strong 850,000 jobs, and hourly pay rose a solid 3.6 percent compared with a year ago – faster than the pre-pandemic annual pace and a sign that companies are being compelled to pay more to attract and keep workers. 

Still, the nation remains 6.8 million jobs short of the level it had in February 2020, just before COVID-19 tore through the economy and eliminated tens of millions of jobs. 

Weekly applications for unemployment benefits, though down sharply from earlier peaks, are still comparatively high: Before the pandemic, they were typically coming in at only around 220,000 a week. 

The number of available jobs across the US rose to a record high of 9.2 million in May. It was well above the 5.9 million

The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits rose slightly last week to 373,000, a Labor Department report on Thursday showed

The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits rose slightly last week to 373,000, a Labor Department report on Thursday showed.  

The total number of Americans receiving jobless aid, including supplemental federal checks that were intended to provide relief during the pandemic recession, amounted to 14.2 million people during the week of June 19, down from 33.2 million a year earlier.  

Many states, though, have dropped the federal aid, responding to complaints that the generous benefits were discouraging some of the unemployed from seeking work: A total of 26 states plan to end the $300-a-week federal benefit before it ends nationally on September 6. 

Most of those states will also cut off federal assistance to the self-employed, gig workers and people who have been out of work for more than six months.

Still, many factors other than the enhanced federal jobless benefits are thought to have contributed to the shortage of people seeking work again: Difficulty arranging or affording child care, lingering fears of COVID-19, early retirements by older workers, a slowdown in immigration and a decision by some people to seek new careers rather than return to their old jobs.

‘We see weekly filings declining over coming weeks as job growth picks up, although at least some of the improvement will be due to states suspending federal support measures,” Rubeela Farooqi, chief US economist at High Frequency Economics, said in a research note. 

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