Surprise! US job openings jumped back over 10 million, and are more than double the historic norms, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics “Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey” (JOLTS) report for April.
That’s an increase of 358,000 from the revised March report, and an unexpected jump in what is supposed to be a slowing economy.
“There are now nearly two job openings available to every single unemployed person in the US,” said RedBalloon CEO Andrew Crapuchettes, who helped found the modern labor market data and analytics industry over twenty years ago. “That puts tremendous pressure on wages, and tremendous limits on economic growth.”
“The US population growth has been declining for fifty years, and that has produced an historic people shortage,” continued Crapuchettes. “Now, even in a softening economy, job openings are more than double the traditional norms as companies struggle to find workers. This puts increasing pressure on AI and other alternatives to fill the gap.”
But, AI can’t do everything, and even though small businesses may outsource many of their clerical tasks to developing technology, they will still need workers.
Hiring continues to be their most significant challenge for growth, and with the pressure of needing to retain employees, they will have to offer competitive wages, despite tight margins.
Labor force participation for the last fifty years has flagged, despite the unusually high number of job openings. Everyone who wants a job already has one.
The bottom line is that the labor market has fundamentally changed. It requires a new, much more strategic approach to find the right talent. Those who are not adjusting are simply being left behind.
This is why RedBalloon is dedicated to helping small businesses find reliable workers.
RedBalloon starts by finding values-aligned talent who are reliable and thrive in positive workplace culture. Job seekers committed to a free workplace are more likely to be productive and effective in their roles.
But that’s just the start.
If you’re looking for motivated, values-aligned talent, post your jobs on RedBalloon.work and find the edge in today’s difficult labor market.