NAM: Manufacturing Job Openings Soar To 706K In March, New Record BY CHAD MOUTRAY Manufacturing job openings soared to 706,000 in March, a new record, acording to Chad Moutray, Ph.D. and Chief Economist at the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM). “Business leaders in the sector need to ramp up production, capacity and staffing in light of robust de- mand, the reopening of the U.S. and global economy and the very strong economic outlook for the coming months,” said Moutray. “As a result, job postings have risen to stratospheric levels. These data offer an encouraging sign that manufacturers feel confident enough about economic growth over the coming months to post new jobs. Nonfarm business job openings jumped to 8,123,000 in March, also a new record. There are currently 1.20 un-
employed workers for every one job opening in the U.S. economy. In addition, nonfarm payroll quits rose to a pre-pandemic high, and quits in the manufacturing sec- tor—an important measure regarding “churn” in the labor market—was the most since January 2001. The National Federation of Independent Business re- ported that 44 percent of respondents had job openings that they were unable to fill in April, a new record, with workforce challenges once again being the top “single most important problem.” Manufacturing production rose 0.4 percent in April, ex- tending the 3.1 percent gain in March. Excluding motor ve- hicles, which plummeted 4.3 percent due to supply chain challenges, manufacturing production increased 0.6 per- cent in April. Since February 2020, output in the manufacturing sec- tor is down 1.7 percent from pre-pandemic levels. I con- tinue to expect manufacturing production to be back to pre-pandemic levels by July.
After retail sales soared by 10.7 percent in March, fueled by stimulus payments and pent-up demand, consumer spending was flat in April. Excluding motor vehicles and parts, which increased by 2.9 percent, retail spending fell 0.8 percent for the month. Despite a disappointing reading, it is important to note that the sharply higher increases in March were largely sustained moving into April, even without addition- al stimulus. More importantly, retail sales should continue to grow strongly over the coming months as the U.S. economy contin- ues to reopen. For what it is worth, retail sales have in- creased a robust 17.9 percent since Febru- ary 2020, or since the pandemic began, or 14.7 percent with motor vehicles and gaso- line excluded. Consumer confidence declined from 88.3 in April to 82.8 in May, a three-month low, according to preliminary data from the University of Michigan and Thomson Reu- ters. Americans felt less upbeat in their as- sessments of both current and future eco- nomic conditions, largely on worries about inflation. The expected increase in prices was the largest in a decade in the survey, and accordingly, real income expectations were also weaker. Manufacturing leaders continue to cite supply chain disruptions as a key challenge. With that in mind, the jump in raw material prices was not a surprise. A fair number of these increases will be transitory, but there is also a worry that cost pressures will not abate, particularly given the strength of the rebounding economy.
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www.boardconvertingnews.com
May 24, 2021
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