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There's something wrong with the US labor market
Business Insider ^ | 05/10/2016 | Myles Udland

Posted on 05/10/2016 1:10:20 PM PDT by SeekAndFind

Something isn't clicking in the US labor market.

On Tuesday, the latest Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey — or JOLTS — report showed there were 5.757 million jobs available in the US in March, a near record.

Additionally, the number of unemployed persons in the US per job open is down to pre-recession levels at about 1.5 workers per job. In 2010, for example, this number was closer to five unemployed workers per job opening.

And while the abundance of jobs is often interpreted as a sign of strength in the labor market, there's a persistent and growing gap between the number of jobs available and the number of hires being made that points to a nagging skills gap in the US labor market that still hasn't been resolved.

Additionally, the amount of time it takes to hire a worker is still at a post-recession high of about 26 days.

There are, of course, a number of interpretations to be taken from this data.

You could see the gap between hires and openings — as well as the time it takes to fill jobs — as signs employers are being more selective, which would be a drag on labor market vitality.

Alternatively, this data could indicate a lack of available workers, thus pressuring both employers' ability to hire and how long it takes to make those hires, suggesting the balance of power lies with employees rather than employers.

But these trends seem to also point towards a gap in what employers want and what employees can offer.

Simply put, it seems clear there is a skills gap in the US economy that is nagging the labor market.

(Excerpt) Read more at businessinsider.com ...


TOPICS: Business/Economy; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: economy; employment; hiring; jobs; labormarket; unemployment
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To: SeekAndFind

I suspect there are millions who refuse to work. Why work if you can draw thousands of dollars in benefits monthly while sitting at home watching reality tv, eating food funded by taxpayers, and talking on their free phones.


21 posted on 05/10/2016 1:51:39 PM PDT by Quilla
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To: SeekAndFind

If you are unemployed and your benefits run out ..... You are no longer unemployed .... at least not on paper.


22 posted on 05/10/2016 1:55:20 PM PDT by R_Kangel ( "A Nation of Sheep ..... Will Beget ..... a Nation Ruled by Wolves.")
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To: fella

No waitress where I work is on welfare. We all work every minute the restaurant is open because no one will apply. We have a help wanted sign and have had precious few applicants. Of those who applied none showed up for the interview. Strange to me because it’s a fine dining establishment in a small town with well to do “lake people “.

When I was in college twenty years ago the steak house nearby had an endless amount of applicants. We have just one college student waiting tables. The rest of us include a guy in his late twenties and two middle age homeschooling moms. Are young people really just that lazy??


23 posted on 05/10/2016 1:58:51 PM PDT by NorthstarMom (God says debt is a curse and children are a blessing, yet we apply for loans and prevent pregnancy.)
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To: SeekAndFind

No jobs. Too many slackers coming to the country and not working. Companies deliberately refusing to hire Americans. Democrat party working hard to destroy the country.


24 posted on 05/10/2016 2:01:35 PM PDT by I want the USA back (The further a society drifts from the truth, the more it will hate those who speak it. Orwell.)
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To: NorthstarMom

“When I was in college twenty years ago the steak house nearby had an endless amount of applicants. We have just one college student waiting tables. The rest of us include a guy in his late twenties and two middle age homeschooling moms. Are young people really just that lazy??”


The 5 of my grandchildren that are old enough to work have jobs. Two at supermarkets,two waiting tables,and one as a life guard.

They were STRONGLY encouraged to find part time jobs by their parents.

The parents are the key.

.


25 posted on 05/10/2016 2:03:51 PM PDT by Mears
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To: NorthstarMom

“We have a help wanted sign and have had precious few applicants.”

Maybe y’all need to pay closer to that livable $15/hr wage. lol


26 posted on 05/10/2016 2:05:09 PM PDT by DonaldC (A nation cannot stand in the absence of religious principle.)
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To: I want the USA back
Democrat party working hard to destroy the country.

Yep, by keeping the unemployed happy with free stuff. Why work when you can live rent free, eat free and have a cell phone with money left over to play XBox all day?

27 posted on 05/10/2016 2:06:58 PM PDT by b4its2late (A Liberal is a person who will give away everything he doesn't own.)
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To: SeekAndFind
there's a persistent and growing gap between the number of jobs available and the number of hires being made

I wonder what the wages are compared to 10 year ago for the same job.

-PJ

28 posted on 05/10/2016 2:09:41 PM PDT by Political Junkie Too (If you are the Posterity of We the People, then you are a Natural Born Citizen.)
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To: Mears

Yep-I waitressed in high school because my mom gave me no choice. Continued through college because it’s the best paying part time job I could get. After a twenty year break I’m back at it again.

Our boys started in food service at 14, the oldest loves it and became a manager at 15. The younger one worked there until 15 and prefers physical labor to customer service so now works for his dad. They had no choice about working, either. It’s what we do.


29 posted on 05/10/2016 2:10:22 PM PDT by NorthstarMom (God says debt is a curse and children are a blessing, yet we apply for loans and prevent pregnancy.)
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To: Political Junkie Too

And not just wages, total compensation.

All these Obama 29er deals are hourly pay and not much else.


30 posted on 05/10/2016 2:11:02 PM PDT by nascarnation
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To: SeekAndFind

“Simply put, it seems clear there is a skills gap in the US economy that is nagging the labor market.”

I really doubt this.


31 posted on 05/10/2016 2:11:29 PM PDT by DonaldC (A nation cannot stand in the absence of religious principle.)
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To: sparklite2

Well with the cornucopia of welfare benefits and Obamacare subsidies, a job has to pay some real dough before it is economically (notice I didn’t say ethically) sensible.


32 posted on 05/10/2016 2:13:01 PM PDT by nascarnation
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To: SeekAndFind

There is definitely something wrong. Stable older people with high degrees (me) and evident intelligence (writing skills) but no recent experience are COMPLETELY UNWELCOME. I’ve spend hours on thousands of individual applications with kick ass intro letters of a variety of approaches and never gotten any response at all. Since I haven’t worked in a million years, I’m not counted as unemployed. And the worst reason to hire me, my having small kids that might get sick, is unknown to potential employers.

With thousands of applicants, getting a job with no specific experience is approaching impossible.


33 posted on 05/10/2016 2:14:09 PM PDT by Yaelle (Tinkerbelle glittering up the runway for Trump Force One!)
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To: DonaldC

For severs $15/hour would be a significant pay cut!! If that ever happened here I would quit for a much easier job. I feel my years when hustling around during a rush!!

Seriously, tips are tremendously motivating and people like good service. It’s not rare for the other middle aged server and me to get tips of 20-30%. Thats why I don’t understand why no one is applying, it’s good money for few hours.


34 posted on 05/10/2016 2:16:49 PM PDT by NorthstarMom (God says debt is a curse and children are a blessing, yet we apply for loans and prevent pregnancy.)
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To: Yaelle

I think today a lot of places use algorithms to screen resumes up front. Stuff like age > 50 or degree year < 1980 may hit the trash folder automatically.


35 posted on 05/10/2016 2:17:07 PM PDT by nascarnation
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To: Rashputin

That’s a good point.

My SIL’s Dad drives a trash truck. He makes really good money (Teamsters). Most young guys coming in can’t pass the test to get (or keep) their Com’l Driver License.

They are always looking for help.


36 posted on 05/10/2016 2:20:16 PM PDT by nascarnation
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To: newgeezer; Flintlock

Thanks. Makes it easier to see the lying graphs of the Obama administration and its sycophants.


37 posted on 05/10/2016 2:20:33 PM PDT by SaveFerris (Be a blessing to a stranger today for some have entertained angels unaware)
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To: dartuser

It’s a lie. Just like the pathological liar Obozo.


38 posted on 05/10/2016 2:21:51 PM PDT by SaveFerris (Be a blessing to a stranger today for some have entertained angels unaware)
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To: DonaldC

I remember a claim that much of the “skills gap” comes down to two things. First there is a set of employers that want to pay 2/3 of the going wage or less e.g. weld 3/8in stainless x-ray tested for $20/hr. The second is due to the bureaucratization and automation of HR e.g. we want 5 years experience with a software application that is less than 3 years old.

That said I think there are problems with ability to pass drug tests, and with lack of people interested in certain skilled professions. How many people hear high school students say they want to become machinists?


39 posted on 05/10/2016 2:42:05 PM PDT by Fraxinus (My opinion, worth what you paid.)
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To: DonaldC

Come to Houston and you’ll find thousands of highly skilled engineers and scientists who would kill to secure a job.


40 posted on 05/10/2016 2:47:14 PM PDT by 353FMG
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