For those who are wondering why the US is struggling to fill vacancies, here is the answer. More and more employees in the US are quitting their jobs. The fact that workers are not all quitting because they have a better offer is what is worrying. In addition, the fear of the spread of the delta variant is preventing many jobless from not making that effort to seek employment.
As per data from the Labour Department, while four million people quit employment in July, the number increased to 4.3 million in August. At the same time, the pace of hiring fell in August – September. Also, the number of vacancies has dropped to 10.4 million.
While the number of open jobs increased 62 per cent over the past one year, hiring, on the whole, has dropped. Only about 1,94,000 jobs were added in September, although unemployment rate fell from 5.2 to 4.8 per cent.
With COVID-19 cases surging in August, many workers from restaurants and hotels are quitting, and so are many workers in other jobs in the retail and education space, that require public interaction. Clearly, there are not enough resources.
As per the Job Openings and Labour Turnover Survey (JOLTS), total hiring dipped from 6.8 in July to 6.3 million in August.
The number of workers giving up their jobs in the hospitality space has nearly doubled.
Maximum employees have quit in the South and Midwest of the US, where the COVID-19 cases have been highest.
