A worker shortage plaguing businesses across the country poses the biggest threat to the economy’s still-nascent recovery from the coronavirus pandemic, according to a new report published Tuesday by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
The Labor Department reported this week that the U.S. had a little more than 9.2 million vacant job openings in May, a record-shattering number despite the 9.3 million unemployed Americans. For comparison’s sake, before the pandemic shut down broad swaths of the nation’s economy, there were roughly 7 million available jobs.
The Chamber estimated there are about 1.2 available workers per job opening; before the crisis, the ratio was hovering around 1.
Although the ratios are close in range, there are key differences between now and before the pandemic: Previously, the major issue was that available workers didn’t necessarily have the skills to fill those openings; now, however, there are other factors at play.
www.foxbusiness.com/economy/chamber-of-commerce-worker-shortage-us-economy
Number of workers unemployed for more than a year jumps by 248,000
- The number of workers unemployed for at least a year increased by 248,000 in June, to 2.9 million people, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
- That represents about 29% of all unemployed workers.
- Around two dozen states have ended federal unemployment benefits for the long-term unemployed.
www.cnbc.com/2021/07/08/number-of-workers-unemployed-for-more-than-a-year-jumps-by-248000.html