Job openings up for second month

Job openings in the U.S. increased in June for a second month, while hiring decelerated, a sign businesses lack the confidence to take on needed staff.
The number of positions waiting to be filled rose by 75,000 to 3.11 million, according to Labor Department figures issued Aug. 10 in Washington. Hiring fell by 78,000 to 4.05 million.
Job growth in May and June was the weakest this year, while revised data last month showed the world’s largest economy grew at a 0.9 percent annual pace in the first half of 2011. The lack of momentum and plunge in stock prices on concern the recovery is faltering may cause employers to delay hiring even more.
“Total job openings have been flat since February and about one-third below pre-recession levels,” Henry Mo, a senior economist at Credit Suisse in New York, said before the report. “We are concerned that corporations may further postpone or even freeze their hiring plans given the current violent market conditions and murky growth outlook.”
Another report last week showed inventories at U.S. wholesalers climbed in June at the slowest pace in seven months as distributors kept stockpiles in line with sales. The 0.6 percent increase in goods on hand followed a revised 1.7 percent rise in May, Commerce Department figures showed. Sales also climbed 0.6 percent after dropping the previous month.
Stocks fell in response, following the biggest gain since 2009 for benchmark indexes, amid concern over the outlook for U.S. growth and that Europe will fail to contain its sovereign-debt crisis.
Job openings increased 2.5 percent in June from a revised 3.03 million in May that was higher than initially reported, the data showed.
The gain in vacancies was broad-based, with professional and business services, retail and leisure and hospitality companies all showing increases. The Aug. 10 report helps shed light on the dynamics behind the monthly employment figures. Payrolls rose in July by 117,000 after a gain of 46,000 the prior month that was larger than initially reported, Labor Department figures showed Aug. 5.
Employers discharged 1.79 million workers in June, down from 1.84 million in May, the report also showed. Total separations, which include firings, retirements and those who left their jobs voluntarily, decreased to 4.02 million from 4.15 million a month before.
In the 12 months ended in June, the economy created a net 1 million jobs, representing about 47.7 million hires and about 46.7 million separations, the report showed.
Compared with the 14.1 million Americans who were unemployed in June, the figures indicate there were almost five people vying for every opening, up from about two when the recession began in December 2007.
The number of jobless fell to 13.9 million in July, pushing the unemployment rate down to 9.1 percent from 9.2 percent the previous month, the Labor Department reported.
Consumer spending dropped in June for the first time in almost two years as a hiring slowdown caused households to retrench. Purchases fell 0.2 percent last month after a 0.1 percent gain the prior month, Commerce Department figures showed last week.
Slowing job growth and a weakening economy were among reasons cited by Federal Reserve policymakers in their decision to keep the benchmark lending rate near zero “at least” through mid-2013.
Slowing sales is one of the reasons San Jose, Calif.-based Cisco Systems Inc., the largest networking-equipment maker, announced last month it plans to eliminate about 6,500 jobs. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. also said it will cut payrolls by about 1,000 workers. •