U.S. Job Openings Rise to Record, Exceeding Number of Unemployed

(Bloomberg) -- U.S. job openings unexpectedly rose to a fresh record in April, with vacancies increasingly exceeding the number of unemployed workers amid a robust labor market, Labor Department data showed Tuesday..Highlights of Job Openings (April)Number of positions waiting to be filled increased by 65k to 6.698m (est. 6.35m) from a revised 6.633m in March., acc. to Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey or JOLTSHiring rose to 5.578m from 5.486m; hiring rate rose to 3.8% from 3.7%3.351m Americans quit their jobs, down from 3.387m; quits rate unchanged at 2.3%Layoffs rose to 1.71m, three-month high, from 1.547m.Key Takeaways.The gains reinforce the view that the economy is creating jobs at a pace that can absorb any remaining labor-market slack. The report follows data released last week that showed payrolls increased more than forecast in May, the unemployment rate fell to 3.8 percent, matching April 2000 as the lowest since 1969, and wages also picked up..March’s upward revision made it the first time in data back to 2000 that vacancies exceeded the number of unemployed, a gap of 48,000. That difference grew to 352,000 in April and is poised to keep widening, as the number of unemployed dropped further in May, to 6.07 million..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..The rise in openings in April was broad-based, led by professional and business services, the JOLTS report showed. Other gainers included manufacturing, trade and transportation, and leisure and hospitality..Other Details.There was 0.9 unemployed person per job opening, compared with 1.9 people when the last recession began at the end of 2007In the 12 months through April, the economy created a net 2.4 million jobs, representing 66.1 million hires and 63.7 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.©2018 Bloomberg L.P.

Bloomberg

Company

Financial Products

Enterprise Products

Media

Customer Support

Communications

Industry Products

Media Services

Follow Us

Bloomberg Customers

BloombergQuint

BloombergQuint

U.S. Job Openings Rise to Record, Exceeding Number of Unemployed

Bloomberg Quint