U.S. jobs, employment indicate struggling labor market

Job openings in the United States expanded below expectations in September. Meanwhile, hiring was as subdued, indicating that the labor market was struggling even before fresh coronavirus cases reemerged.

Even though layoffs reached record lows in nearly two decades, the Labor Department’s monthly Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey revealed that more than one person compete for a single employment. The figure is in a state of conflict against high weekly unemployment claims.

On September 30, U.S. job openings hiked from 84,000 to 6.4 million. The reading placed just below the 6.5 million predicted by economists in a Reuters poll. Meanwhile, job vacancies were stagnant at 7 million in February.

With millions of Americans filing for unemployment benefits, the coronavirus pandemic comes as one of the biggest economic challenges that President-elect Joe Biden faces when he takes the presidential seat from President Donald Trump next January.