There's something wrong with the US labor market

Business Insider ^ | 05/10/2016 | Myles Udland

[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.

[usconservative]

Why does this skills gap exist?

Because Companies don't TRAIN THEIR EMPLOYEES ANYMORE.

They outsource.

That's why.

I've been with the same employer almost 10 years now. I've not received a single training class for ANY of the technologies I have to deal with. I either learn them on my own time and my own dime, or I don't learn them.

Want to close the skills gap? TRAIN YOUR EMPLOYEES!!

[Rashputin]

Western North Carolina, Northwest South Carolina, and the Eastern Tennessee area which are the areas I'm familiar enough with to know about.

I have friends who manage Walmart, Target, Best Buy, Staples, McDonald's, Bojangles, and Walgreen's stores as well as a couple of non-franchise restaurants.

Believe what you like, but drug use is so widespread now it's the norm, not the exception these days. At least for people thirty years old and younger.

[Eisenhower Republican]

"How many people hear high school students say they want to become machinists?"

More than you might think, it turns out. A professor did an informal survey in a classroom I was in. He asked how many people (engineering students) would want to take a full semester class on the subject. About 90% of the room raised their hands.

Machining classes are expensive to provide, so very few schools do anymore.

[EVO X]

Anyone over 50 could forget it.

50 is about the age when a fair amount of people start having costly medical issues. If health benefits are involved, I would suspect the company will take the risk if they are in dire need of the skill set. Otherwise, why take the risk on an older hire and their spouse?