Job openings in the U.S. increased in March, a possible signal that employers are getting more confident about increasing their payrolls. According to the Wall Street Journal, the country had "3.74 million job vacancies at the end of March", which turned out to be 5 percent higher than the previous month. The surge in job openings was attributed to a greater need for manufacturing and construction workers.
Unfortunately, the rate by which these jobs are being filled is still believed to be "flat" and according to government reports, hiring has nearly halted since March.
According to Jeffrey Lacker, Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond President, the inability for employers to find workers who have the skills required for their openings may cause the economy's "long-term, or natural, unemployment rate" to be more than what economists realized since getting the necessary skills and later filling those vacancies will take more time.
Mr. Lacker admitted that "If part of the unemployment is people finding skills and moving to other jobs, then the natural rate is higher than you think it might be." He also acknowledged that "Doubling the demand for welders isn't going to make it any easier for them to learn welding. To me, it's powerful evidence about the time it takes to resolve the mismatch problems."
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