U.S. labor market decelerates on surging coronavirus cases

The United States had seen a mild contraction in its labor market in November. In addition to this, an increased number of layoffs amid the coronavirus pandemic indicated that the jobs market’s rebound from the pandemic was losing momentum.

The Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey released by the Labor Department on Tuesday came parallel with the reports that the economy shed employees for the first time since March. Job openings, which gauge labor demand, plunged 105,000 to 6.527 million on November 30^th. While vacancies diminished from as high as 7.012 million in January, they still came larger than the records seen during the Great Recession.

In November,  unemployed workers reached 1.6% for every vacancy. More so, hiring in the manufacturing, information, and educational service sectors declined. Overall, job openings recorded a 4.4% decline in October, with the retail sector having the most unfilled jobs.