NEW YORK – United States job openings surged to a record in March, putting vacancies roughly on par with the number of unemployed workers, Labor Department data showed Tuesday.
Highlights of job openings (March)
- Number of positions waiting to be filled rose by 472,000 to 6.55 million (est. 6.1 million) from upwardly revised 6.08 million in Feb., acc. to Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey, or JOLTS
- Hiring fell to 5.43 million from 5.51 million; hiring rate unchanged at 3.7 percent
- 3.34 million Americans quit their jobs, up from 3.21 million; quits rate rose to 2.3 percent from 2.2 percent
- Layoffs declined to 1.56 million, lowest since Sept. 2016, from 1.62 million
Key takeaways
The figures are in sync with a Labor Department report last week that showed demand for workers remains solid. Employers increased payrolls in April, pushing the unemployment rate down to 3.9 percent, the lowest since December 2000, and March job gains were revised upward. Wage increases, though, remained tepid.
The increase in the quits rate, which is considered a measure of workers’ willingness to voluntarily leave because they’re confident of finding better employment, should be a positive for worker pay. 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 about one unemployed person per opening in March, compared with 1.9 people when the recession began at the end of 2007
- Openings rose in sectors including construction, retail, professional and business services, leisure and hospitality; fell in manufacturing, finance and insurance
- In the 12 months through March, the economy created a net 2.3 million jobs, representing 65.6 million hires and 63.3 million separations
Shobhana Chandra is a reporter for Bloomberg News.
