Job openings and hiring in US drop in May from April’s level

Total job openings in the US dropped to 5.50 million in May from 5.85 million in April. The manufacturing, leisure, trade and transportation, and education categories accounted for most of the 345,000 decline in job openings in May. Professional and business services recorded job openings, recovering after a weak April.

For the third straight month, hires dropped; however at a slower rate. The rate was unchanged at 3.5 percent. There were 49,000 fewer hires in the month as rises in the education and leisure sectors countered the declines elsewhere. Meanwhile, job market separations, which include quits, layoffs and discharges, were 5 million in May, little changed from April. The total separation rate was 3.4 percent.

Quits dropped slightly to 2.895 million. However, the quits rate stayed unchanged at 2 percent. Meanwhile, there were 1.7 million layoffs and discharges in May, little changed from April. The layoffs and discharges rate was 1.2 percent. The number of other separations was little changed for total nonfarm, total private, and government in May.

The JOLTS (Jobs Openings and Labour Turnover Survey) report was weak across the board and is in line with the subdued payroll report for May, noted Barclays in a research report. The recent payroll data released for the month of June indicated a strong rise in employment, reversing the widespread weakness of recent months and easing worries regarding an imminent and severe deceleration in labor markets, said Barclays.