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A construction worker operating a steamroller in San Francisco in October.
Photo:
Justin Sullivan / Getty Images
In the United States, unfilled jobs exceeded the number of US unemployed by more than a million at the end of the summer, a sign that employers are finding it increasingly difficult to find workers.
On the last working day of September, 7.01 million vacancies were seasonally adjusted, the Department of Labor said Tuesday. This compares to 5.96 million unemployed Americans looking for active work during the month when the unemployment rate fell to 3.7%, its lowest level in 49 years.
The number of job vacancies in September dropped slightly compared with the August revised upward of 7.29 million, the highest level ever recorded. In August, openings exceeded the number of unemployed by 1.06 million.
Before March, job openings had never exceeded the number of unemployed for more than 17 years of monthly registers. Most of the openings decreased in the southern part of the country, the region hit by hurricane Florence in mid-September.
"Workers' demand for workers remains strong," said Julia Pollak, an economist at the ZipRecruiter recruitment site. "Companies have hired earlier than ever before the holiday season and the new year."
A large gap between job vacancies and job seekers could help raise wages as employers are more likely to attract workers who are already employed. In October, average hourly earnings increased 3.1% from the previous year, the largest annual increase since the end of the recession in 2009.
Tuesday's report indicated an increase in September's openings in the transportation, warehousing and utilities sectors and in the health care sector. There were fewer opportunities in construction, manufacturing and finance.
The dismissal rate for workers remained high for the third month in a row. This suggests that Americans have enough confidence in their job prospects to quit their job and find a better partner. The dismissal or dismissal rate for workers in September was just above an all-time high reached earlier this year.
Write to Eric Morath at [email protected]
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