Indeed's Hiring Lab is showing a steady rise in job openings. Tracking job postings as of September 24th, they are now 43.6% above the level they were on February 1, 2020 (considered the pre-pandemic cu-off).

Job postings have been on a tear since May of 2020, well over a year ago, with the only noticeable dip in an otherwise steep rise coming in late July of 2021. They were up 1.2 percentage points in the past week alone.

Bumping it up against BLS data to get a broader view, Indeed economist AnnElizabeth Konkel says: "The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported 10.9 million job openings at the end of July in its latest JOLTS report. Job postings on Indeed increased 6.1% between July 31 and September 24. If JOLTS openings have grown since July 31 at the same rate as Indeed job postings, that implies 11.6 million job openings as of September 24."

As of the latest BLS data - the August, 2021 jobs report - there were 8.4 million unemployed are still actively looking for work in the US. Unless a miracle occurred over the month of September, the odds of this gap narrowing anytime soon look grim. With global reports of driver shortages - including in the UK, leading to a range of issues such as the current massive petrol shortages reminiscent of the oil embargo of the 1970s - goods are being left to rot, economies are suffering huge losses, and populations are beginning to suffer.

Looking at the table below, of the top 4 leading sectors, two of them (Loading & Stocking, and Production & Manufacturing) are directly related to the creation as well as movement of goods. HR includes talent acquisition, which is seeing its strongest moment ever in terms of job openings, as companies struggle to hire for those sectors. This same chart in July had all three in the top four, with Cleaning & Sanitation in the place Pharmacy is now.

The people-industry (HR, talent acquisition, staffing, etc) is seeing strong growth. Organizations are regularly taking steps that pre-pandemic would have been seen as outliers. For example, Patreon recently acquired a tech-staffing firm as a way to move from 10 to 50 employees in their TA department.

Ripples

The impacts from the pandemic on the economy are beginning to reinforce one another. The lack of semiconductors and lumber - which is caused in part by disruptions of the supply chain due to manufacturing labor shortages - is impacting job creation in manufacturing as well as loading & stocking. In the past four weeks job postings fell in those two sectors as well as in other goods-related sectors like construction, and driving, have begun to slow.

Some sectors saw flat job-growth due to the delta variant. Food prep, hospitality & tourism, and sports saw little-to-no growth.

For the full analysis, please visit the Indeed Hiring Lab here.

‍

‍