The Job
Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) published by the Labor Department on Tuesday showed a 3.9 per cent
m-o-m drop in the U.S. job openings in March after a downwardly revised 3.6 per
cent m-o-m decline (from -2.5 per cent m-o-m) in February.
According to
the report, employers posted 7.192 million job openings in March compared to
the February reading of 7.480 million (revised from 7.568 million in last
month’s report) and economists’ forecast of 7.480 million. This was the
lowest figure since September 2024 (7.103 million). The job openings rate came in at 4.3 per cent in March,
down from an unrevised 4.5 per cent in the previous month. The report revealed that the largest decreases in
job openings occurred in transportation, warehousing, and utilities (-59,000),
accommodation and food services (-42,000), real estate and rental and leasing
(-39,000), health care and social assistance (-37,000), construction (-38,000)
and federal government (-36,000).
At the same time,
the number of hires rose by
0.8 per cent m-o-m to 5.411 million in March compared to a downwardly revised 5.370
million (from 5.396 million) in February. This marked the highest reading since September 2024 (5.519 million). The hiring rate held steady at 3.4 per cent. The number of hires was little changed in all
industries in March.
The separation
rate was 5.137 million (or 3.2 per cent) in March, down 3.4 per cent from an upwardly
revised February reading of 5.316 million (or 3.3 per cent). This represented
the lowest print in three months. Within separations, the number of quits reached 3.332 million
(+2.5 per cent m-o-m) and the number of layoffs was 1.558 million (-12.5 per cent m-o-m). The quits
rate was 2.1 per cent (+0.1
p.p. m-o-m), and the layoffs rate was 1.0
per cent (-0.1 p.p. m-o-m).