In March, the US job openings rose to a record high as worker shortages are at an all-time high. Data suggests that employers will keep increasing wages as inflation stays high.
US Job Opening: The current status
On Tuesday, the Labor Department’s Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey also called the JOLTS report revealed that about 4.5 million people voluntarily quit their jobs. The record high is also underscoring the rising wage pressure in the US. The government also revealed that last quarter, the compensation for workers marked its largest increase in over thirty years. “For the economy, this points to another strong jobs report on Friday, and for workers, this means continued strong wage increases, especially for those who change jobs,” stated Robert Frick. Frick is a corporate economist from Navy Federal Credit Union in Virginia.
“The situation likely will continue well into this year given the Federal Reserve’s efforts to cool the labor market probably won’t gain traction for months,” added Frick. US job openings saw an increase of 205,000 to 11.5 million on the last day of March. The retail sector was leading the rise with an added 155,000 jobs.
This is what the data shows
On the other, manufacturers of long-lasting goods reported about 50,000 more vacancies. Additionally, job vacancies for the warehousing, transportation and utility industry saw a decrease of 69,000. The state and local government education sectors saw 43,000 lesser vacancies. While job openings in the federal government were down by 20,000. Job openings are on the rise in the South but, the Midwest, West, and Northeast are not on the same page. According to a Reuters poll, there are as many as 11 million vacancies.
The Federal Reserve is closely monitoring the JOLTS data. They are adopting an aggressive monetary policy as inflation is skyrocketing at an unprecedented rate. Additionally, as per the data, consumer prices are surging at a shocking pace. The U.S. central bank is expected to hike interest rates by half of a percentage point on Wednesday.
It is important to note that as the US job opening rates climbed but the hiring rate fell. Quits increased by 152,000, lifting the total to a record 4.5 million. However, layoffs are still low.