The COVID-19 crisis changed the way many Americans viewed their jobs and how satisfied they were with them. Thus, we saw an increasing amount of Americans flat out leave their job, leave to seek new employment, retire, or at least consider making a major life change change when it came to their careers.
Now, there are a reported 5 million more job openings than unemployed people in the U.S. economy. The sectors with the largest levels of unfilled positions are education, health, and business and professional services, transportation, and utilities. The sector with the highest amount of workers who quit centered in the travel and hospitality sectors. This comes as no surprise seeing how COVID changed these areas for most of the foreseeable future. Many have termed this the "great resignation" as more and more workers leave positions for hopes of career betterment and improvements in their work lives. The Federal Reserve attributes these glaring numbers in employment as factors in the rising rate of inflation. To combat this the FED raised interest rates. Couple these trends with other major macro events and the American and world economy is in a unique place.
https://www.cnbc.com/2022/03/29/there-are-now-a-record-5-million-more-job-openings-than-unemployed-people-in-the-us.html
This is also likely due to the influx of money into the US economy by the Fed. In order to keep the economy running at its normal capacity, billions of dollars had to be spent by the fed. As the economy has leveled out in the aftermath of COVID, there is still a large amount of money in the economy which is being utilized by companies in investment which is leading to more job creation and a lower unemployment rate. Both of these will decrease as the economy moves back toward a steady state.
ReplyDeleteI predict that we will se a wage increase in jobs overall in the US, we are already starting to see this in jobs that are having a hard time finding workers. I think some people found out they didn't need to work during the pandemic, and could live around their same means as before. So now that jobs are open again, their low wages no longer incentivize people to work those jobs.
ReplyDeleteI can see this number increasing. There are numerous job opportunities available. Moreover, the wages are high. Anyone, even without a degree, can earn a decent amount of money and have a good life without depending on anyone.
ReplyDeleteI wonder as more companies and industries raise their wages, if this number will actually begin to decrease or not. I think that some people are most likely not going to enter the labor force again after leaving it during the pandemic, but as wages continue to increase, it does incentivize people to look for work and get a job, even if it isn't their exact dream job at the time. I think the labor force will most likely return to a somewhat normal level over the next year, but will probably remain a little lower than the previously normal amount.
ReplyDeleteWith more jobs than people to fill them, wages will probably rise. This could encourage people who left the labor force during covid to come back.
ReplyDeleteJust this past year, 47.5 million people quit their jobs, averaging to 4 million a month. This is historic, given that in 2019 that number was 3.5 million a year- which led to the term "great resignation" in your article being coined. I think, in addition to the ongoing pandemic that you mentioned a changed work landscape as a result of it has led to people leaving. For example vaccine mandates have been unpopular among some workers.
ReplyDeleteI think there are significant job openings as workers have realized that they can get by on a single family income or even working from home. The high demand for workers has significantly shifted the wages companies are offering and yet still some workers are holding out. It will be interesting to see the state of the economy in coming months as Fed is expected to continue their interest rate increases.
ReplyDeleteI believe that the pandemic took a toll on a lot of people in the hospitality and travel sectors, which makes sense why there is such a need for help there. Employers may have to get creative to figure out how to fill these positions in the future.
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