In a report released today by the national Labor Department, it is clear that the US economy is not entirely out of the woods yet, though the worst may be over. In a comparison between November job seekers and November job openings, the report found a significant differential - there is currently only one open US position for every six job seekers. This statistic first began to be calculated in 2000, and has never been worse than it is now. The December jobs report also bore bad news, with the unemployment rate remaining firmly at 10%. As of now, over 15 million remain unemployed. In contrast, there were only some 2.4 million open positions in November, signaling a nationwide reluctance to hire, and maintaining a slow market pace.
See "Too many job seekers, not enough jobs", Jessica Dickler, CNN Money, January 11, 2010