Placeholder when loading item promotions
U.S. employers posted a record 11.5 million job listings in March, and about 4.5 million Americans quit or changed jobs, hitting all-time highs, reflecting continued strength in the fast-growing job market, where workers continue to struggle have the upper hand.
Meanwhile, the number of new hires — 6.7 million — remained steady, according to a report released Tuesday by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
“Demand for labor remains high,” said Julia Pollak, chief economist at ZipRecruiter. “This is very broad, tremendous growth. Even though we’ve regained almost all the jobs lost to the pandemic, the labor market is getting tighter.”
Why the US economy shrank in early 2022
The strong data on job vacancies and worker layoffs could feed into discussions about containing inflation at the Federal Reserve, which is expected to announce another half a percentage point rate hike on Wednesday. Fed Chairman Jerome H. Powell has cited the “extremely, historically” tight labor market as a key reason the economy can sustain higher interest rates without sliding into a recession.
US employers have added more than 400,000 jobs every month for nearly a year, while the unemployment rate of 3.6 percent remains near record lows. Wages have continued to rise — by 4.7 percent in the year to March 2022 — though they have not kept pace with inflation, which rose by 8.5 percent over the same period.
And while workers continue to feel encouraged to freely change jobs, they may not have quite the leverage they did just a few months ago, said Guy Berger, an economist at LinkedIn.
“From a worker’s perspective, their bargaining power is still high, but it’s not increasing,” he said.
Four ways Americans feel inflation
In Long Beach, California, Paula Hardy recently left her job as a chiropractor at a women’s clinic to open her own mobile practice. After working six days a week for much of the pandemic, she felt burned out and unappreciated.
“I’ve gone from making a six-figure annual salary to a lot less,” said Hardy, 38, who also takes acupuncturist courses. “But I’d rather do my own thing and eat ramen noodles, even if it’s more difficult financially.”
It was the second time Hardy had switched jobs during the pandemic. The first time, in December 2020, she left a job as a longshoreman’s chiropractor at the Port of Los Angeles after her boss insisted she would continue to come to work while she was sick with the flu.
“That raise meant nothing”: Inflation wipes out pay increases for most Americans
“I was already disillusioned,” she said. “Then I got sick and it was clear they didn’t care. The pandemic has made it clear to me that I don’t have to put up with this.”