Sunday, October 11, 2009
Looking for jobs
The average unemployed American is currently competing against more than six other people for every available job, according to the latest statistics from the Department of Labor. That’s the highest job competition recorded since the agency first began tracking such data in 2000. To compare, the worst that things got during the recession earlier this decade was in July 2003, when there were 2.8 workers for every open position.
Altogether, businesses have shed 7.2 million jobs during the Great Recession. In order for the country to get back to its pre-downturn jobs level in two years, the U.S. economy would have to create more than 500,000 new positions per month—something that hasn’t happened since 1950-1951.
-Noel Brinkerhoff
Job Competition Toughest Since Recession Began (by Christopher S. Rugaber, Associated Press)
Job Openings and Labor Turnover Summary (Bureau of Labor Statistics)
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