US job openings hit record high in March, JOLTS survey shows
By Alexander Bueso
Date: Tuesday 11 May 2021
(Sharecast News) - Job vacancies in the US were at their highest level in two decades in March, exceeding the pace of hiring by 2.0m, the most on record.
According to the Department of Labor, the number of job openings in the US jumped at a month-on-month pace of 7.9% in March to reach 8.12m - the most since 2000.
That was considerably higher than the 7.5m that economists had penciled-in.
It also came on top of an upwards revision to the prior month's estimate, from 7.37m to 7.53m.
Hiring on the other hand was up by a more tame 3.7% on the month to 6.01m.
The number of voluntary separations meanwhile, or the so-called 'quits rate' was steady versus the month before at 2.4% of total employment or 3.51m.
In March 2020, the quits rate stood at 1.9%, having risen to 2.3% by November.
Commenting on the latest JOLTS survey data, Michael Pearce at Capital Economics told clients that many of the factors that were restraining labour supply were likely to prove temporary.
Others however, such as the global shortage of semiconductors that had hit auto manufacturing, were now expected to extend well into 2022.
In that regard, he pointed to apparent evidence of skill mismatches in manufacturing and profession business services which were weighing on hiring in both those sectors.
"Either way, wage growth has remained unusually elevated throughout the pandemic, and the signs of labour shortages point to wage growth accelerating further," Pearce said.
"They are not yet pointing to a surge in wage growth, but with labour market conditions tightening further, that could just be a matter of time."
Special promo:
Trading the Forex Market? Visit FXmania.com to get advanced infomation about currencies and the Foreign Exchange
Market.
Email this article to a friend
or share it with one of these popular networks:
You are here: news
10 Lower Thames St,
London EC3R 6EN