The number of job openings remained near record levels last month and the number of employees who voluntarily left their positions increased, the Labor Department said Tuesday.
The data, released as part of the agency’s monthly report on job openings, layoffs and layoffs, serves as indicators of how much demand there is for workers in the U.S. economy and the extent to which employers are still grappling with labor shortages months after the economy began to recover. recover from the worst damage of the pandemic.
There were about 11.3 million job openings in February, essentially the same as the month before and a bit less than a record high in December, although the number of hires jumped 263,000 last month to about 6.7 million.
After declining during the peak of Covid-19 lockdowns in 2020, the rate at which so-called first-age workers – those aged 25 to 54 – are working or seeking employment has risen again to prepandemic levels. But with the economy growing faster than it has been in decades, the demand for labor outstrips the availability of workers — at least against the wages and benefits offered by employers.
According to government data, there are still about three million people who have not returned to the workforce.
“If we look at how poorly our workforce has grown so far this year, if companies are to win the war for talent, they need to involve the people who may not be actively looking for work right now, or are the first option. that people see when they do. return,” Ron Hetrick, senior economist at Emsi Burning Glass, a data and research company, wrote in a note.
That reflects the sentiment of many unions and labor activists, who say that although wage growth has increased, people do not feel valued enough by employers. It has led to new questions about how bosses can learn their employees’ “love language” and find sometimes unconventional ways to show them they care. There are more straightforward requests, too: Several progressive economists have noted that, for example, employers could take some jobs that are expected to be low-paid — such as fast-food service and cashiers — and entice workers by offering higher wages and better benefits.
Both large public companies and small businesses often say that they have already increased wages significantly before the pandemic and that with inflation, unprecedented since the early 1980s, the cost of raw materials and other costs has made doing business more difficult. An expensive surge in commodity markets suggests that food and energy price increases could worsen, especially if companies raise prices further.
Despite widespread frustration over inflation and shortages of some products and materials, some studies suggest that companies are becoming more optimistic about the future. The MetLife and US Chamber of Commerce Small Business Index recently hit a pandemic-era high, with about three in five of small business owners surveyed saying their businesses are in good health.
