Wednesday, October 12, 2011

For Each U.S. Job Opening, 4.6 Unemployed

There were 4.6 unemployed workers for every job opening in the United States in August, according to new data from the Labor Department.

That’s a slight tick up from July, because the number of unemployed rose slightly and the number of job openings fell.

The bottom line is, even if all job openings were filled overnight, there would still be about 11 million people who were still out of work.

Total separations from jobs rose a bit, but primarily because people left their jobs voluntarily (as opposed to being laid off or fired). That could be a good sign for the economy, in that it means workers see opportunities to find other jobs they like better and are opening up more positions in the process. Part of the reason employers have been reluctant to hire is that so few people have been leaving their jobs.

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