After last week’s disappointing jobs report, there’s some good news on the employment front.
Job openings hit a new record high of 5.75 million in July, the Labor Department reported Wednesday.
The U.S. government has been tracking job openings since December 2000 as part of its Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey, commonly known as JOLTS. July’s job opening numbers were well above economists’ average estimate of 5.29 million, and up 3.9% after holding steading at 3.6% for the three preceding months.
While all the openings are good news for job seekers, there was some mediocre data in the Labor Department’s report as well. Despite all the available jobs, employers aren’t hiring new people. Hiring fell to 4.98 million in July from 5.18 million in June. Separations, meaning those people leaving their jobs whether by quitting or layoffs, also fell, hitting 4.72 million in July compared to 4.91 million in June. The quits rate, which signals how confident people are to leave their job for another, held steady at 1.9% for the fourth month.
