From the DAILY BEAST:
There was no shortage of eye-popping statistics at CGI’s jobs summit here in Chicago on Wednesday. But as the second day of the conference begins, perhaps the most shocking stat heard so far is that there are more than three million job openings in America today.
“Posted job openings… are being filled only half as fast as they were filled in every previous recession since World War II,” said former President Bill Clinton.
If all the posted jobs in America were suddenly filled, the unemployment rate would fall by at least 3 percent—enough, perhaps to make a significant psychological impact, both for the business climate and for voters in the 2012 presidential election.
“We can argue all day about how to create new jobs,” said former Georgia Labor Commissioner Michael Thurmond. “But we’re overlooking the fact that there are jobs…that are not filled. We talk too much about what we don’t have, and we haven’t focused our efforts on what we do have.”
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EDITOR: The Watchdog’s co-workers report it is very difficult to find people to fill job openings. One cause is that many who could find work exploit provisions for long term unemployment compensation. Executives and professionals have no monopoly on greed! Part of the tragedy of our time is the wide spread, but not universal, attitude of ‘every man for himself.’
I could not agree with you more that there are jobs that go unfilled because unemployment benefits are often too generous. I have a relative who is capable of working but has collected unemployment for over 2 years. This person can hardly be blamed for not working considering the situation.
I have often felt that companies should be given the unemployment benefits to hire the unemployed rather than have the people sitting around doing nothing.