Economic Report, Jeffry Bartash, (05/11/21)

Businesses have a record 8.1 million jobs to fill. The problem, they say, is getting enough people to fill them.

Job openings in the U.S. topped 8 million in March for the first time ever, the Labor Department said Tuesday. There were 7.5 million open jobs in February.

The number of job openings is now well above pre-pandemic levels and easily exceeds the all-time peak of 7.57 million set in November 2018. They had fallen to as low as 4.6 million last year in the early stages of the pandemic.

U.S. job openings hit a record high. Jobs available top 8 million for the first time ever. Source: Labor Department, Haver Analytics Note: Seasonally adjusted.

RECESSION2015’204.04.55.05.56.06.57.07.58.08.5 million

Yet many companies say they are struggling to find qualified workers to hire. A record 44% of small businesses, for instance, said they could not fill open jobs in April, according to the National Federation of Independent Business.

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