Scott Rasmussen's Number of the Day for June 11, 2018
The Number of the Day columns published on Ballotpedia reflect the views of the author.
June 11, 2018: At the end of April, there were 6.7 million job openings in the United States. At the same time, the Labor Department reported that 6.3 million Americans were unemployed. It’s the first time on record that there have been more job openings than unemployed workers (data available since 2000).[1]
This is a remarkable turnaround. In 2010, coming out of the last recession, there were more than 15 million unemployed and only about 3 million job openings.
These numbers are the latest sign of an extremely tight labor market. The official unemployment rate is at 3.8%. The last time it was lower was in 1969. That figure was artificially low due to the fact that young men were being drafted for the war in Vietnam.
The tight labor market is having a variety of economic impacts. Twenty-three percent (23%) of small business owners say finding qualified workers is their biggest problem. Additionally, it has led to pay increases and other benefits for workers. After raising the base pay for all workers earlier in the year, Walmart recently offered college tuition benefits for its 1.4 million U.S. employees.
Each weekday, Scott Rasmussen’s Number of the Day explores interesting and newsworthy topics at the intersection of culture, politics, and technology.
- June 8, 2018 – 1,888,559,339 dollars worth of former military equipment held by police departments
- June 7, 2018 – 55 million Americans will make in-store payments by smartphone this year
- June 6, 2018 – 23 percent of small business owners say finding qualified workers is biggest problem
- June 5, 2018 – 50 years ago today, Robert F. Kennedy was assassinated
- June 4, 2018 – 1.4 million Walmart employees offered college tuition benefits
- To see other recent numbers, check out the archive.
Scott Rasmussen’s Number of the Day is published by Ballotpedia weekdays at 8:00 a.m. Eastern. Click here to check out the latest update.
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Columns published on Ballotpedia reflect the views of the author.
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