More jobs continue to be open than people looking for jobs

(QUEEN CITY NEWS) — There were more job openings in the U.S. last month than there were people looking for work.

Last month, 4.4 million Americans quit their job while businesses had about 11.4 million openings according to the Department of Bureau Statistics.

“A lot of companies and a lot of managers are saying that they can’t keep any workers,” CEO of Lil G Boss Academy Darcia Shembo-Tucker said.

“I am seeing a lot of individuals who have been dependent on outside types of income like stimulus packages and also unemployment and a lot of people have lost the hope of getting back into the workforce,” she said.

Gracia is a career coach that helps clients either get back into their careers or start a new one.

“In many cases, the individuals who are in those roles are burnt out and overwhelmed because you have one person doing five or six jobs instead of doing anything else,” she said.

Economists say the wave of people quitting their jobs over the pandemic is not all to blame for the abundance of open positions.

“Now for the first time, we are experiencing a problem that we have never experienced before and that is, the folks that are leaving are high skilled, experienced, and larger in numbers than the folks that are coming into the labor force,: UNC Charlotte Economics professor John Connaughton said.

While job openings are up, new mom Dashawn Muhammad said she has been on the hunt for about a year.

“[I] pretty much have been looking everywhere,” she said.  “They say that they are hiring but they pretty much are not wanting to hire anyone, or the process is extremely long.”

Darcia said the Charlotte job market is desirable, especially for those who live out of state and can work remotely.

“We are competing with people from all over who are coming here and are willing to take that job,” she said.