Job openings hit new lows in November, down to 2.415 million from 2.571 million in October and 3.311 million in November 2008, according to the BLS.
There were 6.35 unemployed people for every open job in November, a record high.
The figures show the intractability of the unemployment problem. The economy lost another 85,000 jobs in December, but the number of available jobs continues to grow, likely driven by the permanent elimination of some jobs by employers who have increased the productivity of their workforces and by the shuttering of tens of thousands of companies due to the recession.
The news is bad for the federal government as it tries to expand it programs to tackle the rising numbers of Americans who are out of work. Congress and the Administration have to address dual problems, the first being the number of people being laid off and the second the lack of incentives for employers, many of which are financially healthy to move back to the practice of adding new workers as the economy recovers.
The data from the BLS supports the argument that tax credits are the best way to improve unemployment quickly. Companies which are essentially “paid” though the tax system to add workers increase the number of “openings” in the market which in turn increases the chance that the unemployed with find new work.
Douglas A. McIntyre
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