U.S. Job Openings Eased From a Record to 6.64 Million in May
Job Openings in U.S. Fell in May to 6.64 Million From a Record
(Bloomberg) -- U.S. job openings cooled in May from a record to a level that’s still consistent with a tight job market that’s encouraging more Americans to voluntarily leave their positions for better opportunities, Labor Department data showed Tuesday.
Highlights of Job Openings (May) |
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Key Takeaways
The elevated number of job postings is in sync with the continuing broad trend of job-creation at a pace that’s helping to absorb remaining slack in the labor market. March had marked the first time in JOLTS data back to 2000 that vacancies exceeded the number of unemployed, and the gap is widening as hiring stays strong.
What’s more, the increase in the quits rate shows Americans leaving their jobs are growing increasingly confident about finding a new one that likely pays more and offers better benefits.
Payrolls increased more than forecast in June and more people entered the labor force to look for work, helping push the unemployment rate up for the first time in almost a year, to 4 percent, according to figures released last week.
Although it lags the Labor Department’s other jobs data by a month, the JOLTS report adds context to monthly payrolls figures by measuring dynamics such as resignations, help-wanted ads and the pace of hiring.
Other Details
- There was 0.9 unemployed person per job opening, compared with 1.9 people when the recession began at the end of 2007
- Openings increased in government, mining and oil drilling, finance and retail trade
- In the 12 months through May, the economy created a net 2.5 million jobs, representing 66.4 million hires and 63.9 million separations.
--With assistance from Chris Middleton.
To contact the reporter on this story: Shobhana Chandra in Washington at schandra1@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Scott Lanman at slanman@bloomberg.net, Vince Golle, Jeff Kearns
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