Job Postings Return to Pre-Pandemic Levels
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What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
Here's your Money Briefing for Thursday, February 11th. I'm J.R. Whalen for The Wall Street Journal. For millions of Americans who lost their jobs due to the pandemic, it's been a painful process waiting for businesses to put up the Help Wanted sign. But finally, there are indications that the labor market may be turning a corner. The number of listings for available jobs has hit their highest level since before the pandemic.
Job postings, though it's reassuring to see these numbers increase, they're really only one piece of a broader labor market recovery. And we would need to see these numbers above pre-pandemic levels for quite some time to make up for the job losses that we've experienced over the past year or so.
What does the latest Labor Department report say about job openings in December 2020?
So what kinds of businesses are seeing the most growth? Coming up, we'll call on our economics reporter, Hannah Lang, to explain why hiring in some industries is picking up faster than others. And she'll take the pulse of hiring among small businesses. That's after the break.
This week, the Labor Department said job openings rose to 6.6 million in December. That's an important milestone because it means that listings are now back above pre-pandemic levels. So what does that mean for the millions of unemployed Americans? And who's doing the hiring?
How do 6.6 million job openings compare to the number of unemployed Americans?
To find out, let's bring in our economics reporter, Hannah Lang. Hannah, thanks for being with us.
Thank you so much for having me.
So no doubt this is good news, but how do the 6.6 million job openings compare to the number of people that are currently out of work?
So obviously it is good news to see the number of job openings increase, but these numbers still pale in comparison to the number of Americans that are unemployed and looking for work, which is hovering around 10.7 million in December. I spoke with the chief economist at job search site Indeed, and he pointed out that job postings, though it's reassuring to see these numbers increase, they're really only one piece of a broader labor market recovery.
Which industries recovered quickly after the initial pandemic shock?
And we would need to see these numbers above pre-pandemic levels for quite some time to make up for the job losses that we've experienced over the past year or so.
Yeah, it certainly hasn't been a smooth climb back for the job market.
it's been a rough year for the labor market obviously there was the initial shock of the outbreak in the united states last spring when we saw unemployment claims skyrocket to historic levels and then over the summer when some reopenings were happening some restrictions were lifted we saw some industries pick back up and those industries recovered rather quickly after the initial shock and have held relatively steady over the course of the pandemic. That's industries like construction, warehousing, driving. But then we had another setback over the course of the holidays when cases rose again and restrictions were put back in place. And we saw the labor market enter what appears to be this sort of broader winter slowdown.
And what I'm hearing in my reporting is that this is likely due to a number of things. You know, not only those new safety restrictions in some states, the rising case numbers that might create more fear about going out, leaving your house, going to restaurants, etc. Winter weather makes it less appealing to go window shopping and participate in other forms of economic activity.
How are small businesses and HR advisors viewing hiring prospects for 2021?
So the impressions of many economists and the small business owners that I've spoken with suggest that we're sort of undergoing this winter slowdown, this second hump that we have to overcome, and that we might have to wait until this spring to see things really turn around again with vaccine distribution and other improvements.
So what does the ramp up in job listings tell us about not only the health of the labor market, but also business optimism?
One thing to note about the job posting summaries that we saw, particularly from Indeed, is that it's not just being driven by these industries that have done relatively well over the course of the pandemic. But there's also been a pickup in high wage sectors like tech and finance.
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Chapters
7 chapters
1
What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
0:05–0:44
2
What does the latest Labor Department report say about job openings in December 2020?
0:44–1:19
3
How do 6.6 million job openings compare to the number of unemployed Americans?
1:19–2:02
4
Which industries recovered quickly after the initial pandemic shock?
2:02–3:28
5
How are small businesses and HR advisors viewing hiring prospects for 2021?
3:28–4:12
6
Why might the labor market be experiencing a winter slowdown right now?
4:12–5:35
7
Which high‑wage sectors are seeing renewed hiring and what does that say about business optimism?
5:35–6:12
Speakers
2 identifiedMore from WSJ Your Money Briefing
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