The U.S. now has more job openings than any time in history

In another drastic reminder of just how fundamentally the pandemic has distorted the labor market, the number of open jobs soared to a record 10.1 million in June, according to the latest monthly data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Job Openings and Labor Turnover Summary. As the economy rebounds — even while the delta variant of the coronavirus is spreading in poorly vaccinated parts of the United States — businesses are scrambling to add staff.

“This adds an exclamation point or two to the sense of urgency employers are feeling,” said Mark Hamrick, chief financial analyst at Bankrate.

“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,” said Sam Stovall, chief investment strategist at CFRA Research.

The previous record of 9.3 million jobs was set just two months earlier in April, and the June figure far and away topped the 9.1 million average expectation among economists surveyed by Dow Jones.

The number of people who quit their jobs — used by economists as a sort of proxy to gauge worker confidence — rose to 3.9 million in June, hovering near the record of 4 million set in April.