JOLTs: Growth In Job Openings Continued

Bottom Line: Job openings rose again in April after a strong jump in March. The skills gap continues to be an issue for employers as hires to job openings hit a new low in March and only rebounded a touch in this report. Additionally, the gap between job openings and inflation, which had appeared to be closing, opened back up again (see chart towards bottom). Job Openings ROSE by 65k in April to 6.698 million, compared with market expectations for an increase to 6350.000 million. Government job openings FELL by 26k. Consequently, private sector job openings ROSE by 91k. Over the past 12 months, there were 590k more job openings , 2,041k more than the March 2007 pre-recession peak level. Job Hires ROSE by 92k in April to 5.578 million. Over the past 12 months, there were 353k more job hires , 109k above their November 2006 pre-recession peak level. Job Separations ROSE by 86k in April to 5.408 million. Over the past 12 months, there were 297k more job separations. The Hires to Job openings ratio ROSE by 0.006 points from 0.827 to 0.833 and is modestly below its 12 month average of 0.899. The Number of Unemployed to Job openings ratio FELL by 0.05 points from 0.99 to 0.95 and is moderately below its 12 month average of 1.10. This ratio has been declining since its July 2009 peak of 6.7 amid some volatility.