On the 3d of September, the US Bureau of labour statistics released another Employment Situation Summary which confirmed the tendency to disruption between demand and supply in the US job market Although the number of job postings has been considerably growing, businesses are still struggling to fill the new vacancies. The level of unemployment in the country has decreased from the heights in spring 2020 when Covid-19 began unfolding. However, reaching pre-pandemic measures is not yet in sight. For example, it was against this backdrop that in June almost 950 000 people left their previous positions and started looking for new career opportunities. This is almost 6 times more than in May.
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In April their number decreased by almost 12% compared to March; in May the figure rose by almost 7%. In June the situation changed dramatically. The number of job seekers decreased by 4,5% and continued dropping during till the end of August. This data accurately depicted the takeaway done by the US Bureau of labour statistics. To cut a long story short, recruiters and job seekers went on vacation and put the work on hold in summer.
The second factor lies in the jobs users have been searching for. As results show, users still prefer part-time, paid in cash jobs with little to no experience. Among the most popular vacancies are truck drivers, Amazon packers and sorters, care assistants, construction and post office workers. Taking into account the fact that the two biggest age categories of job seekers are between 25-34 and 18-24 years old , we can conclude that the most economically active population groups are currently not considering long-term employment options and are ready to change occupations frequently.
The third factor is the amount of paid jobs. Sure, the rise in the number of sponsored vacancies shows employers have been very eager to find the most suitable candidates. Companies allocate more money for marketing needs. Undoubtedly, this is a positive sign of economic recovery. If nowadays we’re observing the situation when relatively many people quit their jobs and look for better career options, the share of sponsored vacancies should have risen accordingly. However, the reality differs. In May the share of paid jobs increased by 11,5% but during the first summer month, this figure dropped by almost 2%. We were observing the same situation in July-August when it decreased again by 3.2 %. The figure might not be very impressive but it shows that employers are gradually slowing down the hiring campaigns as job seekers don’t share their enthusiasm.
The average cost of the click on posted vacancy also supports this assumption since it hasn’t dramatically grown over the last three months. Isn’t it a sign that businesses are limiting their financial possibilities, although job seekers are upping the stakes by not accepting available offers?
To sum up, summer break took its course no matter what. Vladislav Sizov, Owner & Global Business development manager at Jooble comments: ‘’However uncertain the whole Covid-19 situation may look, people don’t feel way too stressed about the future. Expectedly for summer, they slowed down job search intensity and actively considered short-term employment options. In its turn, business is also gradually freezing its search. Assumably, to avoid the labour market overheating. Yet, figures show dramatic changes are unlikely to happen”.
