Job openings, a measure of labour demand, increased 228,000 to a seasonally adjusted 5.9 million, the Labour Department said on Wednesday. On Wednesday, Labor said the USA likely added 150,000 fewer jobs in the 12 months to February, based on preliminary benchmark projections.
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The record number of job openings is one of the most cited statistics to demonstrate the labor-market’s strength, even as employers are not able to find enough skilled workers to fill the positions.
There were 1.6 million layoffs and discharges in July, little changed from June and at a 1.1% rate. The data dates back to December 2000. NAHB Chief Economist Robert Dietz comments that the increasing rate of “open construction jobs has been increasing since the end of the Great Recession”.
Total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 151,000 in August, and the unemployment rate remained at 4.9 percent for the third consecutive month.
Job openings were nearly across the board. Hires increased by 137,000 in professional and business services but decreased by 77,000 in other services. The ratio of job openings to unemployment hit a 15-year high. The separation rate was also little changed in July at 4.9 million – a rate of 3.4 percent.
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About the same number of Americans – three million, or a rate of 2.1% – quit their jobs in July, as was reported in June. Quits are now up 9 percent year over year.
