#JOLTS report shows signs of recovery:
- 5.4 million job openings, up from 5.0 million last month
- 6.5 million hires (a series high due to rehires of workers on temporary layoff in April)
- Quits rate edged up 1.6%
- 5.4 million job openings, up from 5.0 million last month
- 6.5 million hires (a series high due to rehires of workers on temporary layoff in April)
- Quits rate edged up 1.6%
While the number of hires overall hit an all-time record high in May due to rehires of workers on layoff, the number of hires hit an all-time record low in State and Local Government (excluding education) of 70K, down from the more typical 156K in February.
Despite anecdotal evidence and WARN notices indicating elevated numbers of layoffs in May, the #JOLTS report says there were just 1.796M layoffs and discharges, which is about the average for the past two years.
There were 3.9 unemployed Americans per job opening in May. As recently as February, there were 1.2 million more job openings than unemployed Americans.
Total separations were the lowest in 7 years, partly due to unusually low numbers of retirements & quits in most industries. Probably many who would have retired or quit in May were already laid off in March/April or are staying put, now that other opportunities have disappeared.
