Job Openings in U.S. Climb for Second Month as Employers Gain Confidence

[Purveyor]

Source: Bloomberg



By Timothy R. Homan

March 9 (Bloomberg) -- Job openings in the U.S. rose in January to the highest level in almost a year, signaling employers are gaining confidence as the economic recovery takes hold.

Openings increased by 193,000 to 2.72 million, the most since February 2009, the Labor Department said today in Washington. More people were hired and the number of workers fired decreased to the lowest level in almost two years, the report also showed.

The figures indicate that the world’s largest economy, which expanded in the second half of 2009, is poised to add workers after payrolls dropped less than anticipated last month. Nonetheless, the labor market will take time to overcome the loss of 8.4 million jobs since the beginning of the recession in December 2007.

“The increase in the job openings rate is a positive sign,” said James O’Sullivan, global chief economist at MF Global Ltd. in New York. “We’re at the point now where job growth is turning positive. The labor market is improving, but it’s got a long way to go.”

The rate of job openings in January climbed to 2.1 percent from 1.9 percent the prior month, according to today’s report. Education and health care showed the biggest gain in worker demand followed by business services and hotels and restaurants.

Read more: http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601068&sid=aSeYNC9ioJOQ

[Demeter]

1. What do the Other 19 Million Do in the Meanwhile?

[dmallind]

7. Compete to see who is the right 2.7million. Would you prefer 1.9million? NT

[saigon68]

36. Lots of jobs watching children, mowing lawns of the rich

No benefits

[dmallind]

48. really? Looks from factual data more like nurses and manufacturing labor to me NT

[Cant trust em]

9. Did you expect the economy to grow 21 million jobs in a month? nt

[girl gone mad]

13. At this rate, it will take decades to get back to 5% UE.

[Qutzupalotl]

15. But it doesn't have to stay at this rate.

[totodeinhere]

31. Yes, the rate can go down too. n/t

[Qutzupalotl]

41. But never up, right?

[totodeinhere]

46. No, of course it always fluctuates up and down. n/t

[SkyDaddy7]

17. "They" have been saying....

We won't see 5% for years! This is why we need new manufacturing jobs in America based on future technology. I think Obama has said this a few times.

[cbdo2007]

23. Give me a break....

Some people here can never be happy until everything is fixed for everyone.

Get over it and recognize the recovery IS happening whether you want it to or not.

[totodeinhere]

32. Yes, but it's just the normal business cycle. The economy has recovered just as much in...

the past under Republican administrations. Meanwhile, the real unemployment rate is at 16.5% and in cities like Detroit it's 25%.

[cbdo2007]

40. Yes and the "normal business cycle" is much better than the abnormal, negative business cycle

we've been in the past 2 years.

That's called an improvement.

Call it that!!! Say it, it's an improvement dammit!!!! :)

[DBoon]

44. past 2 years?

I'd say it's been since 2001

[warm regards]

53. Well said.

Some will continue to dwell on the negative.

[Turbineguy]

2. Oh noes!

if the economy gets better Obama will not fail! Rush Limbaugh will be upset.

[zbdent]

35. but he'll have his socialized health care in Costa Rica ...

unless he really just uses that as a feint so that nobody sees him get on the plane for the Dominican Republic ... because he couldn't leave those little boys behind ...

[NJmaverick]

3. K and R for good news

[livetohike]

4. Thanks for the good news. The trend is going in the right

direction, finally.

[conspirator]

5. At reduced Pay of course nt

[belpejic]

6. Let's hope we're headed in the right direction.

Too many of us want and need to work. If we can maintain a positive direction into the summer we might just start turning this tanker around.

If it happens it'll bum the crap out of the Republicans.

[dmallind]

8. Doesn't matter to the doomers. Facts never do

Job openings can be up, factory orders can be up, hours worked can be up, GDP can be up, but somehow it can't possibly be real or good news if we don't have full employment right now, today.

[Cant trust em]

10. I always like checking in here when there's obviously good news

Just goes to show the mentality of some folks.

[girl gone mad]

12. You mean the people who want to hold off on popping those corks..

until we get some fundamental reforms that will actually improve the lives of working people in this country?

[Cant trust em]

14. Some recognition of things moving in the right direction would be appropriate

There are so many factors that we can gauge some sort of improvement, so I don't see why we can't appreciate one of them.

[dmallind]

24. How about recognizing that "popping the corks" is a strawman for a start

Nobody is saying it's party time and all is well. Realists however are saying that good news continues to build some momentum towards the START of a recovery. Why is anything more positive/realistic than Kunstlerite Chicken Littleism seen as a celebration that all is well? What's so difficult to accept about a position that we can start to get better and still have a long way to go?

[whattheidonot]

11. low savings, tight credit.

good news , maybe. Factory orders are being controlled to keep prices up and longer hours per worker is not necessarily good. that means fewer getting hired. a higher price with less workers is good for companies, not necessarily the economy. Check out some stores. the shelves are being kept bare. low savings, tight credit makes everything cost more, continues cycle. a slow , slow, recovery and a different kind.living nicely on a hourly wage is history for now. the only economy where money is moving is at the top with schemes and services for the rich. the old economy of more, more, more is finished. there is a squeeze either way.

[karynnj]

29. Turn most of these things around and you see that they are better than what they were

There was a time when the number of hours were becoming lower because it was a way to keep more employers. You could see that the longer hours per worker is an improvement as it signals that some demand has returned. They can only expand hours so much before they have to hire.

[Newsjock]

16. And we continue to not manufacture a damn thing

From the article:

"Education and health care showed the biggest gain in worker demand followed by business services and hotels and restaurants."

[dmallind]

25. Really? Who manufactures more than the US? NT

[Selatius]

38. Aside from industrial/precision manufacturing, we pretty much outsourced consumer electronics.

All of that is done in Asia now.

[cufford]

18. "Confidence" my ass

Employers hire new employees when they have a need to, not because of some "the future looks brighter" kind of feeling.

And this kind of ridiculous rhetoric goes to the similarly nonsensical concept of helping businesses "create jobs". You can't just create jobs because you feel like it. There has to be demand for the goods and/or services in the first place. Demand creates jobs, not "feel good" mentality.

And so, of course, nothing will change. There not only isn't enough demand in our economy to create more jobs, but it's less than is necessary to even sustain our current level. And, demand is steadily decreasing over time as wages continue to fall and thus more good paying jobs are lost.

Of course, for the past two years they've been saying the worst is over and things are just starting to turn around. For two years now! Yet amazingly, things have only kept getting worse.

Gee, I wonder how much worse things will be at this time next year, and the year after, and so on and so forth.

I've seen no credible, sensible evidence that things are doing anything but continuing to degrade. The few isolated, positively-spun anecdotes that the media loves to push notwithstanding.

For two years I've been saying that we're only seeing the tip of the iceberg of what's coming. Two years later, I continue to stand on this opinion, and because the past two years have proved that I correctly interpreted what's going on economically back then. Nothing has changed for the better.

[leftstreet]

26. +1

Well said

Welcome to DU!

:hi:

[NJmaverick]

28. Nothing you said actually matches with the real business world

[Abq_Sarah]

45. Oh?

I thought he was spot on with the bit about demand creating jobs. I'm certainly not going to go on a hiring spree because of reports of a slight uptick in the economy.

[Demeter]

43. Don't Confuse the Joy Boys With Facts

After all, appearances count more. And one data point constitutes a "trend".

[ShortnFiery]

19. Oh, and chocolate rations are also up!

I think I'll drink some victory gin in celebration. :crazy:

[Arkana]

20. I have an interview tomorrow...hopefully I won't be a statistic much longer!

*crosses fingers*

[renate]

21. good luck!

Fingers crossed for luck that this trend is personal for you as well as national! After all, it's the personal trends that really matter. I hope this positive news gives you an extra boost of confidence about your chances! :hug:

[Arkana]

22. I can't express how much I want this job.

It pays almost what my old one did, plus it comes with state benefits--and since I'm a MA resident, the benefits will RULE.

And it's in a college environment, which I have sorely missed since I graduated in '07.

[onpatrol98]

27. Good Luck!!!

Good Luck! I hope you get some really good news!

[karynnj]

30. Best of luck!

[Lugnut]

37. Good luck!

I'll keep my fingers crossed for you.

[paparush]

33. Would You Like Fries with That? nt

[pattmarty]

34. I guess this means EFCA will now get passed.

:sarcasm: :sarcasm: :sarcasm: :sarcasm: :sarcasm:

[soarsboard2]

39. A Good Step in the Right Direction

but we have a LONG row to hoe.

[L0oniX]

42. Oh goody ...Booger King is hiring.

[Moosepoop]

47. It appears that those who work for a living by preparing and/or serving food

are objects of contempt here. I spent years working in the restaurant business (yes, fast food -- oh, the shame!) and while it didn't make me rich, it was good, honest work that enabled me to purchase a home as a single parent, own a car and provide health, dental, and vision care to my kids.

The article listed the education and health care fields as having the most job openings. No cheap shots were taken at school personnel or health care workers, and rightfully so as these are also honest jobs -- right down to the janitors who mop the halls and the nurses aides who change bedpans for relatively little pay. "Business services" were next, and no cheap shots there either. But the mention of job openings in the hotel and restaurant businesses bring out the "Would you like fries with that?" and "Oh goody... Booger King" juvenile level of snark.

I'm glad some posters have such high opinions of themselves that they are able to look down on those who cook, clean, or serve others for a living. It really must be nice to be so much better than others.

Edited to add that this reply is not directed at the OP, it's an in-general thread rant.

[Le Taz Hot]

52. Ha!

Excellent rant! :applause: :woohoo: :headbang:

[Akoto]

54. I agree 100%. There is no shame in any of those jobs. n/t

[DCBob]

49. That is very good news but good news is not appreciated here.

Sadly, many on this board want this country to collapse.

[depakid]

55. Hardly

Many are simply pessimistic based on their experiences of the past decade and others recognize the immense problems the American economy faces, some of which are structural and aren't going away anytime soon.

Hopefully the trend will continue in the near term- though over time the elephant in the room- petroleum prices- will rear its head again, which of course changes everything.

[Quantess]

50. Good news.

[Jimbo S]

51. I've seen more activity in the last six weeks.

Hopefully, not an anomoly.

I applied to an opening back in early January. Yesterday, they e-mailed me wishing to set up a phone interview. However, this place is 3+ hours away. Because things are looking up, I'm not as desparate as I was two months ago. Not sure if I should persue this or take my chances on looking for something closer while still on UE.