美国7月职位空缺数升至1090万 创纪录高位
文 / 潘万莉
9/08/2021
（早报讯）美国7月职位空缺数升至纪录新高，表明劳动力短缺状况持续存在，对企业满足客户需求构成挑战。美国劳工部周三公布的职位空缺和劳工流动率调查(JOLTS)显示，7月职位空缺数升至1090万，6月上修为1020万。彭博调查的经济学家预期中值为1000万。
自去年非农就业数减少了数以百万计后，经济活动迅速回暖导致许多企业严重缺人。美国各地都能见到商户窗口贴着“招人”信息，许多餐馆不得不限制营业时间。
展望未来，随着对冠病疫情的担忧减弱，以及学校重新开放，招聘难的问题也会相应缓解。然而，与德尔塔毒株相关的病例激增，及其对学校及工作场所安全感的影响，可能会让职位空缺数据改善的状况更晚到来。
7月职位空缺数比招聘人数多430万，为2000年以来有纪录以来最高水平。当月自愿离职人数增加到400万，离职率持平于2.7%，接近纪录高位。
Job openings hit new record high of 10.7 million in July
BY SYLVAN LANE
9/08/2021
Job openings hit another record high in July before the delta variant upended the U.S. labor market, according to data released Wednesday by the Labor Department.
On the last business day of July, there were 10.9 million open jobs in the U.S, an increase of 800,000 from the previous record of 10.1 million openings in June. Hires stayed even 6.7 million in July and separations — which includes layoffs, firings and voluntary departures — also stayed flat at 5.8 percent.
The new openings data is a window into the strength of the U.S. economy just weeks before surging COVID-19 cases driven by the delta variant walloped job growth. The U.S. added more than 1 million jobs in July, according to the August jobs report, but just 235,000 jobs last month.
“Demand for workers was still growing before the Delta variant impacted the US economy,” wrote Nick Bunker, economic research director at Indeed, in a Wednesday analysis.
“The big uncertainty is how much of a blow did the latest surge in the pandemic deal to demand,” he continued.
There were roughly 83 unemployed workers per 100 job openings in July — the highest level since December 2019, according to Bunker — as a summer rush of travel, dining, and entertainment spending drastically drove up demand for workers. But the rise of the delta variant later in the second half of July laid the groundwork for a sharp hiring slowdown the following month.
While fully vaccinated individuals are still unlikely to suffer serious illness if they contract COVID-19, the delta surge poses several major obstacles for the labor market recovery.
Coronavirus-related school closures could prevent millions from returning to work as health concerns force consumers to pull back their spending. The expiration of federal pandemic unemployment programs this week may also do little to spur more job gains if health fears and school closures keep more potential workers on the sidelines.
“The Delta variant has disrupted many plans and predictions, including the idea that the reopening of the service sector will continue to power the recovery. This may be a temporary slowdown, but we should remain vigilant about the risks to a quick and robust recovery,” Bunker wrote.
