The number of unfilled jobs in America is extremely high. One reason is that people are quitting their jobs at record levels. That figure hit 4.4 million in September. And the figures are amazing high in some states. In Hawaii, 7.1% of the working population quit jobs two months ago.
The jobs situation is much worse for employers in several industries. Low-paid openings go unfilled. A place that pays low hourly wages like restaurants is desperate for new employees. Even McDonald’s has trouble.
So many Americans have been quitting their jobs this year that the term “Great Resignation” has been coined to describe this unprecedented exodus from the workplace.
One reason for this may be that workers decided to wait out Covid-19 before quitting jobs they were lucky enough to have as millions of others lost their jobs last year during the worst months of the pandemic. As the country began to recover, these and other workers left jobs in search of higher wages, better benefits and, for many, more flexibility in working from home.
Which industry is hiring the most these days? To find out, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics on the rate of job openings plus the total number of job openings across 19 key industry categories. Figures are for the number of job openings on the last business day of the most recent month for which figures are available, May 31, 2021, as a percentage of total employment. Parallel numbers are given for May 2020 for comparison.
The industry with the most job openings is Accommodation and food services. Here are the details:
> Job opening rate in May 2021: 9.1% (total: 1,248,000)
> Total employment + job openings in May 2021: 13,669,000
> Job opening rate in May 2020: 6.6% (total: 627,000)
> Total employment + job openings in May 2020: 9,549,100
Click here to read Industries With The Most Job Openings
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