Job openings top 10 million in June

6.7 million workers hired in month

WASHINGTON — U.S. employers posted a record 10.1 million job openings in June, another sign that the job market and economy are bouncing back briskly from last year’s coronavirus shutdowns.

Job openings rose from 9.5 million in May, the Labor Department reported Monday. Employers hired 6.7 million workers in June, up from 6 million in May. The gap between openings and hiring suggests that firms are scrambling to find workers. Lingering health fears, difficulty getting child care at a time when many schools are closed and expanded federal jobless aid may have kept some unemployed Americans from seeking work.

Still, hiring (up nearly 12%) grew faster than job openings (up 6%), narrowing the mismatch. In a research report, Contingent Macro Advisors suggested that “this report might offer the first sign that headwinds like generous unemployment benefits and childcare issues for parents might finally be

abating, allowing people to get back to work.”

A record low 1.3 million people were laid off or fired in June.

The monthly Job Openings and Labor Turnover survey showed that nearly 3.9 million workers quit their jobs in June, a sign of confidence in their prospects of getting a better one. The June quits number was just shy of the record 4 million, set in April.

The U.S. economy has rebounded with unexpected strength as the rollout of vaccines allows businesses to reopen or expand hours and encourages cooped-up Americans to get out again and visit restaurants, bars and shops. Still, the fast-spreading delta variant has cast a shadow over the outlook. Daily cases are averaging more than 100,000, up from fewer than 12,000 in late June but down from around 250,000 in early January.

On Friday, the Labor Department reported that the economy generated 943,000 jobs last month and the unemployment rate fell to 5.4% from 5.9% in June.

Moreover, Friday’s report found that as customers come back and businesses scramble to find workers, they are raising wages: Average hourly earnings were up 4% last month from a year earlier.

The economy lost over 22 million jobs in March and April 2020 in a practically overnight recession as the coronavirus forced businesses to shut down and people to stay home. Since then, the U.S. has recovered nearly 17 million jobs, meaning it is still almost 6 million short.

“If the pace of hiring over the last three months continues, all jobs lost due to the pandemic would be regained in seven months,” Leslie Preston, senior economist at TD Economics, wrote in a research report. “However, the pace is likely to cool a bit and the risk of the delta variant looms.”

Over the past week, a growing number of state and local governments and major employers have made masks and vaccinations mandatory in a move that could help beat back the virus and protect the economy.

A failure to contain the surge could lead to more closings and cancellations of various events and prompt schools to roll back plans to reopen, making it difficult for many parents to go back to work.

“The next 10 to 14 days are going to be critical to try to get it under control,” said Labor Secretary Marty Walsh. “We need to get more people vaccinated. Where there are mask mandates in place, we need to follow that.”

He added: “It’s really important that we take this seriously so we don’t get into a situation where we have to go into shutting down parts of our country.”

Rubeela Farooqi, chief U.S. economist at High Frequency Economics, said she is optimistic the job rebound can continue despite the variant, but she is holding off on her forecast for August because “there are a lot of unknowns right now.”

The rollout of vaccines encouraged businesses to reopen and consumers to return to shops, restaurants and bars. Many Americans are also in surprisingly strong financial shape because the lockdowns allowed them to save money and bank relief checks from the government.

As a result, the economy has bounced back with unexpected speed. The International Monetary Fund expects U.S. economic output to grow 7% this year, its fastest pace since 1984. And employers are advertising jobs — a record 9.2 million openings in May — faster than applicants can fill them.

Some businesses blame generous federal unemployment benefits — including an extra $300 a week tacked on to regular state jobless aid — for discouraging Americans from seeking work. In response, many states have dropped the federal assistance even before it is scheduled to expire Sept. 6.