Happy Help

The number of help-wanted ads is now 0.7% higher than its pre-pandemic level a year ago. During the worst of the pandemic, the difference was -39%. Relatedly, the number of job openings hit 6.646 million in 12/20, exceeding the 6.552 million in 12/19, also the first time the Y-o-Y difference has been positive since Sars-Cov-2. However, the number of December unemployed totaled 10.7 million, a year ago just 5.844 million.