Job openings climb to record 6.16 million in June

[mahatmakanejeeves]

Job openings climb to record 6.16 million in June

Published: Aug 8, 2017 10:04 a.m. ET

Companies hired fewer employees in June

By STEVE GOLDSTEIN D.C. BUREAU CHIEF

The number of job openings rose to a fresh record in June while hiring decreased, evidence of the difficulties companies are having finding suitable employees.

The Labor Department reported that openings vaulted to 6.16 million from 5.7 million in May.

Hirings, however, fell, and separations also fell slightly.

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The BLS's Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey is released in the week after the monthly employment report.

Job openings increase in June; hires and separations little changed

Economic News Release USDL-17-1097

Job Openings and Labor Turnover Summary

For release 10:00 a.m. (EDT) Tuesday, August 8, 2017

Technical information: [phone] • [e-mail] • www.bls.gov/jlt
Media contact: [phone] • [e-mail]

JOB OPENINGS AND LABOR TURNOVER – JUNE 2017

The number of job openings increased to 6.2 million on the last business day of June, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Over the month, hires and separations were little changed at 5.4 million and 5.2 million, respectively. Within separations, the quits rate and the layoffs and discharges rate were little changed at 2.1 percent and 1.2 percent, respectively. This release includes estimates of the number and rate of job openings, hires, and separations for the nonfarm sector by industry and by four geographic regions.

Job Openings

On the last business day of June, the job openings level increased to 6.2 million (+461,000). The job openings rate was 4.0 percent. The number of job openings increased for total private (+417,000) and for government (+44,000). Job openings increased in a number of industries with the largest increases occurring in professional and business services (+179,000), health care and social assistance (+125,000), and construction (+62,000). Job openings decreased in other services (-62,000). The number of job openings increased in the Midwest and West regions. (See table 1.)

Hires

The number of hires was little changed at 5.4 million in June. The hires rate was 3.7 percent. The number of hires was little changed for total private and for government. The number of hires decreased for educational services (-29,000), but was little changed for all other industries. Hires decreased in the Northeast region. (See table 2.)

Separations

Total separations includes quits, layoffs and discharges, and other separations. Total separations is referred to as turnover. Quits are generally voluntary separations initiated by the employee. Therefore, the quits rate can serve as a measure of workers’ willingness or ability to leave jobs. Layoffs and discharges are involuntary separations initiated by the employer. Other separations includes separations due to retirement, death, disability, and transfers to other locations of the same firm.
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The Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey results for July 2017 are scheduled to be released on Tuesday, September 12, 2017 at 10:00 a.m. (EDT).


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[awesomerwb1]

1. Thank you for posting this.

The number of job openings rose to a fresh record in June while hiring decreased, evidence of the difficulties companies are having finding suitable employees.

I had read somewhere, I think someone may have posted this here, that the economy is at full employment (paraphrasing).

[msongs]

2. minimum wage, part time, no benefits. tons of those jobs here in Honolulu. nt

[mahatmakanejeeves]

3. There are 7 million unemployed and 6.2 million job openings. Whats the problem?

There are 7 million unemployed and 6.2 million job openings. What’s the problem?

By Heather Long August 8 at 2:25 PM

The United States has a record 6.2 million job openings. It's the highest number since the Labor Department began tracking job postings in 2000. ... At the same time, there are 7 million unemployed Americans. That's almost one job for every person searching for a role. This should be a no-brainer, right? Get the jobless onto the doorsteps of these employers.

Sadly, it's not that easy. There are two fundamental problems with the job market today: Businesses complain they can't find qualified workers to fill the jobs, and workers complain they aren't getting paid enough.

The view from a lot of chief executives is that there aren't any good workers left. Over half of small business owners in America say there are "few or no qualified applicants" for the jobs they have open right now, according to the latest NFIB Small Business Survey released hours before the Labor Department said there was a record number of job openings. We have heard for years that there aren't enough computer programmers, but the grumbling goes deeper than that.

{Trump is right about this: Americans need to move where the jobs are}

Too many workers these days show up drunk or high on weed, managers say. Or they refuse to work late or on weekends. As The Washington Post's Chico Harlan reported over the weekend, some companies are bringing in robots because they can't find enough humans willing to do the work anymore. The other obvious solution is to bring in more immigrants, but President Trump wants to do the exact opposite. Last week, he proposed slashing legal immigration by 50 percent over the next decade.
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Heather Long is an economics correspondent. Prior to joining Wonkblog, she was a senior economics reporter at CNN and a columnist and deputy editor at The Patriot-News in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Follow @byHeatherLong