Job Openings Rise to Highest Level in 13 Years
Job openings in the U.S. climbed to a 13-year high in August as employers gained confidence about the outlook for demand in the world’s biggest economy.
The number of positions waiting to be filled rose to 4.84 million in August, the most since January 2001, from a revised 4.61 million the prior month, the Labor Department reported in Washington. Hiring and firings cooled, while fewer people quit their jobs.
“It reinforces the view that the labor market is improving,” Sal Guatieri, senior economist at BMO Capital Markets in Toronto, said. “It’s making progress, reflecting an economy that seems to have pretty good momentum.”
The median forecast in a Bloomberg News survey of economists called for 4.7 million openings after a previously reported 4.67 million in July.
The Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey, known as JOLTS, showed employers hired 4.64 million people in August, down from 4.93 million the month before.
The hiring rate dropped to 3.3% from 3.6% in July. The rate calculates the number of hires divided by the number of employees who worked or received pay during the month.
Job openings increased most among health-care providers, retailers and hotels and restaurants. They declined among construction firms and state and local government agencies.
The number of total dismissals, which excludes retirements and those who left their job voluntarily, fell to 4.44 million from 4.63 million in July.
Some 2.47 million people quit their jobs in August, the fewest since April and down from 2.55 million. The quits rate, which shows the willingness of workers to leave their jobs, held at 1.8%. It was at 2% when the last recession started in December 2007.
