U.S. job openings climb 12.0 percent in April; hires increase 1.1 percent

The Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) published by the Labor Department on Tuesday revealed a 12.0 percent m-o-m jump in the U.S. job openings in April after a revised 10.1 percent m-o-m climb in March (originally a 7.9 percent m-o-m surge).

According to the report, employers posted 9.286 million job openings in April compared to the March figure of 8.288 million (revised from 8.123 million in the original estimate) and economists’ expectations of 8.300 million. This was the highest reading since the series began in December 2000. The job openings rate was 6.0 percent in April, up from a revised 5.4 percent in the prior month (originally 5.3 percent). The report showed that the number of job openings rose in a number of industries with the largest gains in accommodation and food services (+349,000), other services (+115,000), and durable goods manufacturing (+78,000), which, however, were partly offset by declines in educational services (-23,000) and in mining and logging (-8,000).

Meanwhile, the number of hires increased 1.1 percent m-o-m to 6.075 million in April from a revised 6.006 million in March (originally 6.009 million). The hiring rate was 4.2 percent in April, unchanged from the prior month. Hires went up in accommodation and food services (+232,000) and in federal government (+10,000), but fell in construction (-107,000), durable goods manufacturing (-37,000), and educational services (-32,000).

The separation rate in April was 5.760 million or 4.0 percent, compared to 5.436 million or 3.8 percent in March. Within separations, the quits rate was 2.7 percent (+0.2 p.p. m-o-m), and the layoffs rate was 1.0 percent (-0.1 p.p. m-o-m).