Unemployment and the Labor Shortage in the US

Many American businesses report that they are having trouble finding employees and that vacancies remain unfilled. A rise in unemployment is expected, while companies are making cuts.

The number of workers quitting their jobs in 2021 exceeded 47 million, a significant increase over 42 million in 2019. There are many factors contributing to this shortage of workers, including vaccine mandates.

3.6 percent of the population was unemployed in 2019. As of 2021, it has dropped to 3.9 percent from 6.7 percent in 2020. 3.5 percent was the unemployment rate in July 2022, slightly below the level pre-COVID. This does not mean everyone who worked in 2019 is back to work.

Additionally, Linkedin data shows a decline in hiring across all industries by 5.4 percent in the past month. A 9.1 percent decline in hiring has been reported in the tech sector. Netflix, Tesla, and Coinbase have announced job cuts or hiring freezes, while Vimeo is laying off 6 percent of its employees.

26 August 2022