Job openings outnumbered the unemployed by more than 2 million in July as companies struggled to fill a record number of vacancies, the Labor Department reported Wednesday.
The department’s Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey showed 10.9 million positions open, which is considerably more than the FactSet estimate of 9.9 million and the June total of 10.18 million.
The figure was also significantly higher than the 8.7 million level of those out of work and looking for jobs in July.
The rate of job openings measured against the total labor force swelled to 6.9% in July, up from 6.5% the previous month and 4.6% a year ago.
Regionally, the Northeast rate rose to 7% from 6.2%. Despite being hit hardest by new Covid cases, the South continued to have the highest level of job openings at 7.1%, an increase of 226,000 from June.
