U.S. labor shortage study breaks down the numbers by state

According to CareerCloud’s research, data gathering and analysis, as of Sept. 8, the number of unfilled jobs grew further to a record 10.9 million while the number of unemployed Americans fell to 8.3 million. There are enough open jobs to employ every American. But businesses across the country are facing a huge labor shortage. Some businesses have changed their hours because they can’t cover all shifts, while others have shuttered entirely. Some have boosted their standard hourly wages, while others have offered added benefits like covering vision and dental insurance or paying out hiring bonuses.

Many observers have suggested that expanded unemployment benefits are keeping people from seeking jobs, while others blame the issue on the fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic. Childcare, skills gaps and other causes are likely also playing a role.

Regardless of the reasons for businesses having difficulty filling open jobs, the truth is that the picture is much different from state to state.

Unemployment rates, economic conditions and job openings all vary widely across the country, and we wanted to understand which states are best for employers looking to find qualified workers (and workers hoping to find satisfying, well-paying jobs). We analyzed data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, as well as job boards Indeed, ZipRecruiter and CareerBuilder to create a picture of job openings across the country.

Here are some of our key findings:

• Hawaii has the fewest job openings per unemployed people, 0.41 jobs per person. The District of Columbia has the most, 2.37 per person.

• Nevada’s jobless rate has dropped the most over the past year, falling by nearly nine percentage points. Kentucky’s has declined by just over one point since the summer of 2020.

• Three of the four industries with the highest number of job openings have annual wages that are well under the national median, while the highest-paying sector (information) has the second-lowest number of available jobs.

For the full article, reporting and Bureau of Labor Statistics data, read here.