Friday, December 10, 2010

U.S. job opportunities trending upward in brand new Labor Department statement

There were more job opportunities in October than there have been in two years, the Labor Department said. After an earlier Labor Department report that showed the unemployment rate inching dangerously close to 10 percent, the career opportunities statement was considered great news. The Oct job openings numbers, based on economists, could be an indication that hiring might gain some momentum early next year.

Career opportunities statement for Oct

There were 3.4 million career openings reported in Oct. From September, that is a 3 million increase. The Labor Department’s Job Opportunities and Labor Turnover Survey showed that the 12 percent month-to-month increase reversed declines in the two previous months. October job opportunities reached the highest total since August 2008, when the financial markets were on the brink of collapse. An increase of 369,000 private sector career opportunities in Oct was the biggest since 2006. Then there were lots of advertised career openings by the JOLTS. About 1 million were advertised. The low point in July 2009, which was a month after the end of the recession, was increased from to 44 percent.

Job openings nevertheless overloaded by unemployed

From October 2009, there was a 32 percent increase in career opportunities. The 14.8 million still unemployed hurts that number though. It’s really hard to get jobs still. There were 4.4 people interested and trying to get each October job opening according to the JOLTS statement. The number is getting better though since in Sept it was 4.9 people per career and since Jan 2009, it is the best number. The recession still hurt things. It will be hard to fix it up. On the Columbia Broadcasting System News program “60 Minutes” Sunday, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said it could take up to five years before the joblessness rate returns to a “normal” rate of between 5 and 6 percent.

Viewing a better career sector

Hiring has accelerated quite a bit. Bernanke's estimate might end up changing with the job opportunities report. Many economists estimate hiring off the JOLTS report. It’s typically quite accurate for about three months. Even though job creation in Nov fell short of probably the most conservative estimates, an economist at Credit Suisse in New York told reporters that last month’s dismal careers statement looks like “a bump within the road.”. The career market might be getting out of limbo finally with the JOLTS report showing good signs.

Info from

ABC News

abcnews.go.com/Business/wireStory?id=12332380&page=2

Business Week

businessweek.com/news/2010-12-07/job-openings-in-u-s-rise-pointing-to-bigger-payroll-increases.html

MarketWatch

marketwatch.com/story/job-openings-rise-to-34-million-in-october-2010-12-07



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