A total of 4.4 million labor in the United States (AS) quit work or resign (resign) in February 2022. The figure was up slightly from the previous month, though still below its record high of 4.5 million people in November 2021.
quote CNN BusinessWednesday (30/3), resignation (resign) it happens a lot in the retail, manufacturing and education sectors. Only a handful of people quit their jobs from the finance and insurance industries.
The US Bureau of Labor Statistics survey said that in February 2022, there were 11.3 million jobs available. The figure was more than economists had previously estimated. However, it is still lower than the position in December 2021, which was 11.4 million job vacancies.
James Knightley, Chief International Economist at ING, said the US labor market is starting to recover from the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, in which more than 20 million Americans lost their jobs.
However, there is still a shortage of labor supply to fill every available job. “If the payroll report on Friday (1/4) is disappointing, it’s because of the lack of manpower,” he added.
The shortage of labor, Knightley said, has left US businesses scrambling to find people, even though companies are vying for higher wages.
In fact, the average wage has risen which supports public spending or consumption in the midst of rampant inflation.
“In a service sector economy, the biggest cost is labor. Therefore, inflation from the service sector will remain high and last longer as companies charge higher costs to their customers,” Knightley said.
However, data from The Conference Board shows that many workers are quitting and turning to jobs with better pay or benefits. This means, they don’t really stop working.
The proof, the index of consumer confidence in the US in March 2022 ticked higher than the beginning of the year. “This is a promising sign that the economy will continue to grow in the first three months of the year,” said Lynn Franco, director of the Conference Board.
However, he reminded that the dark cloud still shrouds due to the high consumer price index, and the impact of the Russo-Ukrainian war that has impacted gasoline prices at gas stations in America.
(one/sfr)
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