There are two job openings for every unemployed person in the education and health services industry (1.96). Meanwhile, the professional and business services industry has 57% more job openings than unemployed persons and nondurable manufacturing has 53% more job openings.
At the other end of the spectrum, mining (.36), construction (.47), and transportation, warehousing, and utilities (.68) have far fewer job openings than unemployed Americans.
Takeaway: There is clearly a structural mismatch between who is unemployed (based on their previous industry) and where the jobs are in the U.S. (industries looking for workers). The percentage of long-term unemployed (27 or more weeks) is also approaching the record highs set in 2011. Congress will have a difficult decision before September 6 regarding COVID UI benefits: let them expire for 10.7 million people—something that has never happened before for so many people—or extend them again and risk prolonging the U.S. economy's transition out of COVID.
