Job Openings in U.S. at Record High

There are more job openings available then there are people looking for work, the Wall Street Journal reported. One of the reasons for his discrepancy is that several hard-hit industries have 5.7 million less jobs available in July 2021 than there were in February 2020.

More than 20 million jobs vanished between March and April 2020, when the coronavirus pandemic crashed into the United States, but about 13.4 million have been recovered.

In June 2021, there were 10.3 million job openings, a record high. The U.S. added 943,000 jobs in July, the best month for employment since August 2020. 659,000 of them were in service positions, an industry that has struggled to recover as many of its employees tried to move on to more stable jobs.

Leisure and hospitality workers have the highest hiring rates and a boost in earnings, but the dramatic increase of coronavirus cases throughout the country have cast a shadow on the tourism and travel recovery.

Manufacturing has outpaced overall hiring, while retail is lagging. More people are making things, but less people are selling them.

Remote work has expanded in education and healthcare, with 14% of private education and healthcare workers reporting they worked from home due to the pandemic.

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smarcus@hamodia.com