Payrolls little changed as hiring and layoffs were flat again.
Employment vacancies unexpectedly rose in April, reaffirming the health of the U.S. labor market.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Job Openings and Labor Turnover Summary (JOLTS), job openings climbed by 191,000 to 7.391 million, from the upwardly revised 7.2 million in March.
The consensus forecast indicated a reading of 7.1 million.
The largest increases were observed in arts, entertainment, and recreation (43,000) and mining and logging (10,000). Conversely, the number of job vacancies decreased in accommodation and food services (negative 135,000) and state and local government (down by 51,000).
Over the past 12 months, job openings have declined by more than 200,000.
Several surveys have indicated that companies are struggling to fill their positions.
The April Small Business Optimism Index found that 34 percent of business owners reported job openings they could not fill, although their outlook has slightly deteriorated.
“While owners are still trying to fill a high number of current job openings, their outlook on business conditions is less supportive of future business investments,” said Bill Dunkelberg, chief economist for the National Federation of Independent Business.
The number of job quits tumbled by 150,000 to a four-month low of 3.194 million. This is down from the upwardly adjusted 3.344 million in March and 3.414 million in April 2024.
JOLTS figures show that employment quits were concentrated in trade, transportation, and utilities (negative 123,000) and professional and business services (negative 29,000).
Economists pay attention to the quits data because they can signal workers’ confidence in finding a new job in the current economy.
The quits rate—a measure of voluntary job leavers as a share of total employment, dipped to 2 percent from 2.1 percent in the previous month.
The April report confirmed the trend of employers maintaining their headcount. The numbers for new hires and layoffs were flat at about 5.6 million and 3.2 million, respectively.
Overall, the latest JOLTS update provides a positive outlook for the U.S. economy, according to Chris Zaccarelli, the CIO for Northlight Asset Management.
By Andrew Moran
