US Job Openings at Record High of 10.1Mln in June – JOLTS Report

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) – US job openings jumped to a record high of more than 10 million in June, Labor Department’s Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) released on Monday showed, in a further sign that there was more demand for workers than people available for jobs in an economy rebounding from COVID-19 disruptions.

The number of available jobs in June was 10.1 million versus May’s revised tally of 9.5 million, according to the survey. Economists polled by US media had expected an opening of 9.27 million positions on average for June.

More than a year into the COVID-19 crisis, restoring job growth remains one of the biggest challenges of US policymakers.

The United States lost more than 21 million jobs between March and April 2020, at the height of business lockdowns forced by the coronavirus. At least 7 million of those lost jobs have yet to be filled with new positions, officials say.

At the same time, the Labor Department’s non-farm payrolls report for July, released last week, showed an encouraging 943,000 new positions filled in July, bringing the unemployment rate down to 5.4 percent. Economists had projected just around 870,000 positions to be filled in July, and an unemployment rate of 5.7 percent.

The US economy shrank 3.5 percent in 2020 due to COVID-related disruptions. This year’s rebound has been rather dynamic, with a 6.5 percent growth registered in the second quarter though that still lagged the 8.5 percent expected by economists.

Sourse: sputniknews.com