Large drop in US job openings in May

A lead-indicator of the US jobs market cooled in May.

The number of job openings in the US declined from 5.967m in April to 5.666m for May, according to the Department of Labor.

Nevertheless, the number of job vacancies remained above their year earlier level of 5.582m.

In parallel, the number of hires increased from 5.043m to 5.472m.

The so-called quits rate edged higher from 2.1% in April to 2.2% in May.

In May 2016 it stood at 2.1%.