Recently reported employment data suggests that there are now as many unfilled job openings (6.55 million), as there are unemployed Americans (6.59 million). This is the narrowest gap, between available jobs and those seeking jobs, in nearly 20 years of record keeping. At the same time, workforce participation rates remain near record lows.
This is not good news. Sustainable economic growth is generally driven by more people working, spending money and paying taxes.
There does not appear to be any consensus as to the underlying reasons for the apparent inability and/or unwillingness of potential employees to join the workforce.
This is a situation that investors should continue to monitor.
All comments and suggestions are welcome.
Walter J. Kirchberger, CFA