Employers offer perks to lure workers

U.S. Labor Department reports 531,000-job gain in October

U.S. hiring accelerated in October, according to new federal estimates, but unemployment claims suggest Connecticut employers are still struggling to lure people back to the workforce.

The U.S. Department of Labor reported a net gain of 531,000 jobs in October based on surveys of business establishments, up from a gain of 312,000 the previous month. Employers had about 3.2 million fewer jobs filled than in October 2019 before the COVID-19 pandemic.

In a separate report Thursday, DOL indicated that hours worked by U.S. employees were up 7 percent on average in the third quarter, as employers asked more of their existing workers as they scrambled to fill openings.

“Everyone now is looking for help in terms of hiring, attracting people — and frankly, also trying to hold on to them,” said Carlos Rodriguez, CEO of payroll processing giant ADP, speaking last week on a conference call. “This is not going to resolve itself overnight, in terms of the tightness in the labor market.”

In October, the U.S. unemployment rate dropped to 4.6 percent from 4.8 percent in September. Connecticut’s official unemployment rate was 6.8 percent in September. The Connecticut Department of Labor is expected to release October employment estimates in two weeks.

In the first week of October, fewer than 50,000 Connecticut residents filed for unemployment compensation, the first time that had occurred since before the pandemic, according to an ongoing count by the state department. But despite a larger number of open jobs in Connecticut — there were 86,000 openings posted as of Friday morning on Indeed — unemployment claims shrank by only 1,800 filings for a 4 percent decline.

Companies continue to offer bonuses, particularly for seasonal jobs like holiday package delivery. A United Parcel Service job ad on Friday offers $21 an hour along with $125 extra per week for drivers who can deliver packages using their own cars, along with 56 cents a mile to cover vehicle usage costs.

UPS had the largest number of openings on Indeed on Friday, at nearly 2,200 in all. Yale New Haven Health and Hartford Health Care were next with more than 1,500 openings each.

“The environment is different than it’s ever been — for sure — but we’re all hands on deck,” UPS CEO Carol Tome, said during a conference call in late October. “Within 30 minutes, you can get an offer. Before, you had to go through a gaming exercise before you could get an offer. And trust me, I played those games — I didn’t do well, so I was like, ‘Let’s get out of the game.’”