U.S. April JOLTS report suggests scarcity of available labor

The April Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) report carries on indicating towards scarcity of available labor. After remaining level for most of last year, total job openings have risen sharply in recent months and are currently at 6.04 million in April, which is around 400k above year-ago levels.

The openings data for the month of April are the highest level of openings recorded since the series started in December 2000. Both private and government openings have driven the rise in overall openings. Private openings rose to 5.46 million, while government openings were up 580k. Government level openings are mainly due to state and local postings.

But, while openings have risen, hiring has continued to be more stable. Total hires dropped in April to 5.1 million and are consistent with their levels seen one year ago. Private hires dropped 257k on the months to 4.72 million. The hiring rate of 3.5 percent still lags that achieved during the peak of the last cycle in 2005-06 (3.9 percent) and is well below the hire rate of 4.4 percent in 2000.

The quits rate, which is used to judge the level of worker sentiment, remained widely the same at 2.1 percent, and it is consistent with the average quit rate at the peak of the 2005-06 cycle. The layoff rate remained close its historical low at 1.1 percent.

In all, the combination of the high level of job openings, strong quits rate and flat hiring, and low layoffs level, indicate towards scarcity in labor markets. The number of unemployed job seekers per job opening now stands at 1.17, a new recovery low.

At 17:00 GMT the FxWirePro's Hourly Strength Index of US Dollar was neutral at -38.3129. For more details on FxWirePro's Currency Strength Index, visit http://www.fxwirepro.com/currencyindex