No Surprise: Available Workers Outnumber Available Jobs
By the end of November, there were a record-high 6.4 workers available for every job opening in the United States, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. Compare this number to 1.7 workers for each job opening in December 2007, which is widely considered the beginning of the recession.
Part of the equation is that job openings have fallen over recent months. There were 2.42 million job openings in November, a significant decrease from October’s 2.57 million openings.
While there is every indication that the economy has begun to rebound, there is some skepticism about whether recovery is real or just a result of government subsidies and stimulus programs. As a result, employers are adopting a “wait and see” attitude and not hiring workers. Unemployment could reach 10.5% nationwide this year.
For more information, see http://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/jolts.pdf.