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Is there a labor shortage in the US?
Job openings outnumbered unemployed people in the US from May 2021 to December 2023. Does this mean there’s [a labor shortage]([link removed])? And what does this mean for the labor force participation rate? Here are some answers from a new article at USAFacts.
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The nation had 9.03 million job openings in December 2023, or 2.76 million more open jobs than unemployed people. Still, that’s down 20% from a year prior. This was 5.4% of all nonfarm jobs in the country. (Nonfarm means all workers except those in farming, which the Agriculture Department tracks, as well as private household employees, proprietors, and unpaid volunteers.)
[Number of unemployed people per job opening]([link removed])
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Labor force participation, a measure of the total labor force, remained between 62% and 63% for most of 2023. For comparison, the rate dropped to 60.1% in April 2020.
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The healthcare and social assistance industry had the highest percentage of open jobs: 7.7%.
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The US unemployment rate remained between 3.4% and 3.8% from February 2022 through January 2024. The nation had 6.12 million unemployed people in January — 3.7% of the workforce.
Get more details on the [US labor market here]([link removed]).
The federal fight against opioid abuse
The opioid crisis has touched every corner of America. The federal government [has authorized billions of dollars]([link removed]) to help people with opioid addiction. Still, reports show that hundreds of millions in funds are going unused.
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Congress passed three laws from 2015 to 2018 to appropriate $10.6 billion in opioid spending. (The Congressional Budget Office estimates that sections of these new laws could reduce federal revenues by $90 million from 2017 to 2028.)
[Estimated change in federal spending due to opioid response laws]([link removed])
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Last year, California, Florida, and Ohio each received more than $100 million from the federally funded State Opioid Response grant program. Pennsylvania and New Jersey rounded out the top five states.
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Adjusting for population size, Delaware, West Virginia, and New Hampshire were each awarded the most per resident — over $20, compared to $2.84 for California.
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Around $300 million of the program’s funding for 2018 and 2019 went unspent, with 14 states having spent less than half of their funding share.
[Learn more here]([link removed]). Then, see the data on where [deaths from fentanyl]([link removed]) are rising.
Data behind the news
Homeownership, the southern border, abortion, aid to Gaza and Ukraine, job openings, taxes on corporations — these are just some of the big topics covered in Thursday’s State of the Union address. [USAFacts compiled the data behind them]([link removed]) and much more.
The Army is cutting the size of its force by nearly 5% as it struggles with recruiting shortfalls. [Why don’t young people want to join]([link removed])?
While you’re making sure you’ve set all your clocks ahead one hour, here’s a reminder why [daylight saving time exists]([link removed]).
Take a shot at the [weekly fact quiz]([link removed]) – can you score 100%?
One last fact
[Many of the states with the least subsidized housing are in the western US]([link removed])
In 2022, Rhode Island had the most [subsidized housing units]([link removed]) per 100,000. That equaled 35 units per 1,000 people. New York had the second most at 30 units, then Massachusetts (28), Connecticut (23), and Louisiana (21). Arizona had the least, with fewer than six units per 1,000 people.
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