As the national labor market tightens, fewer people need to move to Texas for better job opportunities. This shift, along with other factors, will alter trends in job development in the future.
The House of Representatives recently passed a bill that would provide permanent protections for the so-called "Dreamers" and a path to citizenship.
The Labor Department says June was one for the record books with 6.2 million job openings. That is the highest ever.
Employers added a robust 222,000 jobs in June, the most in four months. Dr. Perryman says it's a continuation of a pattern we've seen for several years.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics is out with a report of what the future of the workforce will look like in 2060, and Dr. Perryman finds it quite troubling.
Dr. Perryman tells us recent indicators suggest the labor market is in one of the best positions it's been in decades.
There are more people working in the US now than at any point in history and the labor market is improving, but there are still challenges.
From June to July 2021 (the latest available data), the number of job openings was up 749,000 to 10.9 million, the highest level since the US Bureau of Labor Statistics started keeping such records in December 2000. The largest increases in available positions occurred in health care and social assistance (+294,000), finance and insurance (+116,000), and accommodation and food services (+115,000).
The US labor market is tight, with national unemployment rates well below the 4% level commonly considered "full employment." There is perhaps some modest slack, with millions unemployed and others working part-time when they'd rather be working full time. Nonetheless, there are ample signs that even this limited supply of potential workers is diminishing in most markets and industries.
The next few decades will bring major changes in the US labor market. The growth rate will slow and the labor force will become older and more diverse. The percentage of the population which is working will also continue to fall. The implications for businesses, the economy, and society are profound. Let's look at a few of the major trends.