Three unemployed candidates for every job opening? The Great Recession was twice as bad

By many measures, including the effect on the economy, the pandemic has been devastating. But for job hunters, the prospects looked a lot worse during the Great Recession.

In June, according to federal data released last week, there were three unemployed people for every job opening in the U.S. That was down from 3.9 in May and 4.6 in April, an improving trend that tracked the reopening of much of the economy.

Even at their worst, these numbers don't rival those from the second half of 2009, when the U.S. was mired in a deep recession. At that time, more than six unemployed people were competing for every job opening. And the ratio remained high for years, not falling to 3-1 until early 2013.

At the time, job hunters often complained about the tough labor market, saying companies were looking for "a purple squirrel." That was a metaphor for a job candidate with an unworldly mix of experience, skills and pay history. In other words, employers wanted applicants who didn't exist.

Today, many companies have said they can't get workers to return, either because they're afraid of being exposed to COVID-19 or they don't want to give up unemployment benefits, which had included an extra $600 a week from the feds.

The number of job openings remains high by historical standards. At the end of June, there were 5.9 million openings, on par with monthly averages in 2015, '16 and early '17. That's also more than double the monthly openings during the 2009 recession.

That sounds promising for the unemployed, but a Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) economist warns against reading too much into the data.

The big risk, of course, is the pandemic. No one can tell, she said, whether a community may have to shut down parts of its economy again.

"So expect it to be volatile," Abbott said about the labor market.

At the moment, there's strong demand for workers in restaurants and hotels. In July, the leisure and hospitality industry added over half a million jobs, more than any sector.

In June, food and lodging companies reported 719,000 openings, the equivalent of 6.4% of its worker base. That's higher than the 4.1% openings rate for all industries, and higher than the rate from a year ago.

"It's essentially back to where it was before the pandemic," Abbott said about demand for those workers.

"There are fewer good jobs, but they are out there," said Allison Harding, senior director of career and financial services at the Jewish Family Center of Greater Dallas.

For high-wage earners, she said, "The jobs are not there in the numbers they used to be."

Her colleague, career coach Mitch Jacobs, said he helped a financial manager in his 60s, who was pursuing work for five months. Ultimately, he accepted a contract position paying about $40,000 less per year, Jacobs said.

The current downturn is much different from the Great Recession, said Robert Dye, chief economist at Comerica Bank. In 2009, a financial crisis spurred the problems, not a pandemic. And male blue-collar workers in manufacturing and construction faced some of the deepest job cuts.

This time, it appears that women in low-paid services, especially women of color, are bearing more of the brunt of the damage.