‘These data underscore the difficulty in hiring new workers, which we think is increasingly likely to be a factor restraining payroll growth going forward.’ — John Ryding, RDQ Economics
Job openings in the United States hit a record high in April and some businesses reported a shortage of qualified workers to fill job openings, pointing to the continued tightening of the labour market. The Job Openings and Labour Turnover Survey, or JOLTS, released by the Labour Department on Tuesday showed that the number of job openings rose 259K to a seasonally adjusted 6.0M in April, a new all-time high, following the preceding month’s downwardly revised reading of 5.79M and surpassing analysts’ expectations for 5.65M openings, with the largest increase occurring in accommodation and food services. April’s increase was the largest in 12 months and pushed the jobs opening rate to 4.0%, the highest since July 2016, up from March’s 3.6%. Nevertheless, the number of hires dropped 253K to 5.1M during the reported month, lowering the hiring rate to 3.5%, the lowest in 12 months, from March’s 3.6% and pointing to a massive skills gap in the US labour market. The number of layoffs fell 71K to 1.59M, whereas the number of people quitting their jobs declined 111K to 3.03M.
