On the
heels of a better-than-expected jobs report, it has come to light that the US
currently has more job openings than any time in its history. The number of job
openings in the country marked a record 10.1 million in June, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Job Openings and Labor
Turnover, reports NBC News.

As the
economy rebounds, the impact of the Delta variant spreading to poorly
vaccinated parts of the United States are causing businesses to scramble to add
staff.

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“The
economy is reopening. Unfortunately, because of the supply-demand imbalance,
with so many businesses opening up, the demand has exploded, whereas the supply
will take longer to catch up,” Som Stovall, chief investment strategist at CFRA
Research told NBC News.

The demand
for workers has been highest among employers in business and professional
services, retail trade, food service and accommodation businesses. The southern
part of the country is seeing relatively more activity as the number of people
quitting their jobs is increasing.

Layoffs
meanwhile are at a record low of 1.3 billion. This indicates that people who
are taking up new jobs are sticking to them. Companies too are increasing
salaries to attract and retain employees, Stoval added.

However, this
record rise in job openings is not all good news.

Economists
and market strategists say that the record rise in openings is a “good-news,
bad-news dichotomy”. The demand for workers is pushing up wages, especially
among the lowest-paid workers and the backlog of positions indicates robust
demand for both goods and services to sustain a continued recovery in the
labour market.

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But on the
flip side, this sudden surge in demand for workers is affecting businesses
which are already battling high input costs. Inflationary pressures are pushing
up prices as businesses struggle to maintain proper supply chains and shortages
of critical components.

Meanwhile,
nearly 9.2 million continue to remain in the Labor Department’s “U-6” category
which includes unemployed workers and people working part-time seeking
full-time work as well as those regarded “marginally attached” to the
workforce.