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SALT LAKE CITY — What's going on now in the world of employment makes 100-year-old Walter Orthmann's world-record tenure at a single Brazilian textile company even more astounding.
Orthmann started working for Industrias Renaux S.A. (now known as ReneauxView) on Jan. 17, 1938. And he's been there ever since.
This past January, Guinness World Records verified Orthmann's epic run and recently crowned him the titleholder for the longest career in the same company.
"Back in 1938, kids were expected to work to help support the family," Orthmann told Guinness. "As the oldest son of five, my mother took me to find a job at the age of 14."
After getting his first position as a shipping assistant, Orthmann showed outstanding skills and willingness to learn and shortly after he was promoted to a position in sales, according to Guinness. Then, he became a successful sales manager, the position he continues to hold.
Orthmann reports he is in good health, has excellent mental clarity and memory, exercises every day and enjoys a calm life. As a result, he said he has been able to maintain enough vitality and energy to drive to his favorite place every day: the office.
Orthmann's secret to maintaining his mojo for the same employer for the past eight-plus decades? Staying in the moment.
"I don't do much planning, nor care much about tomorrow," Orthmann told Guinness. "All I care about is that tomorrow will be another day in which I will wake up, get up, exercise and go to work; you need to get busy with the present, not the past or the future. Here and now is what counts. So let's get to work!"
Meanwhile, as Orthmann continues to build on his record, single-employer longevity, a record number of Americans are busy shuffling off their current job responsibilities and heading for, presumably, bigger and better opportunities.
Walter had already been working at ReneauxView for 17 years at the time of the first Guinness World Records book being published...
— Guinness World Records (@GWR) May 3, 2022
According to a Tuesday Department of Labor report, a record 4.5 million U.S. workers quit their jobs in March while another 1.8 million left due to layoffs, terminations, retirements or other circumstances.
In another all-time record, some 11.5 million job openings were recorded on the last business day of March, according to the Labor Department report. Of those unfilled positions, about 2.7 million were in Western states that include Utah, along with Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Washington and Wyoming. The same region had 1.8 million job openings just a year ago.
According to the report, notable job opening increases in March were in retail trade and durable goods manufacturing while openings were down in transportation, warehousing, and utilities; state and local government education; and federal government positions.
The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday that, according to a ZipRecruiter analysis of Labor Department data, job postings at larger employers — those with more than 5,000 workers — have more than doubled since February 2020. Manufacturing, retail, education and professional services have seen the largest increases. Openings reached their highest levels on record in the South.
The March job openings total was higher than the previous record of 11.4 million in December, according to the Labor Department.
"There is little sign of cooling in the greatest job seekers' market of all time," Julia Pollak, chief economist of ZipRecruiter, told the Journal. "As businesses continue to face high turnover, and the gap between demand for labor and supply widens yet further, businesses will continue to experience upward pressure on wages."
