US job openings jump in April, but hiring slumps

Job openings at companies Stateside returned to their highest level of the current economic cycle in April, leading some, but not all, analysts to conclude that any lull in employment growth would be short-lived.

The number of job openings in the US increased from 5.67m to 5.788m in April, matching the cycle-high hit in July 2015, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics´s JOLTS survey.

Economists had been expecting a reading of 5.675m.

March´s estimate was revised lower from 5,75m to 5.67m.

Economists divided

"The number of job openings has surged in recent months, and the numbers are consistent with the idea that the slowdown in April and May payrolls will be temporary. No single hiring indicator is definitive, but this is a comforting report.

"The quit rate, however, dipped a tenth to 2.0%. Dr. Yellen is a keen watcher of the quit rate, citing it yet again in her speech in Philadelphia this week, so this decline reduces the chance of a July hike, at the margin. By the time of the Sep meeting, we expect the quit rate - which just moves inversely with the unemployment rate - will have risen again, Ian Shepherdson, chief economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics, said in a research note sent to clients.

However, hiring (5.092mn, previous: 5.29mn) slowed down significantly for a second month in a row in April, from 5.29m in March to 5.09m in April.

"This morning’s report provides further support for the negative signal from May payrolls. That said, the information gain from the JOLTS data is marginal, as these data are revised by the BLS to be consistent with the establishment survey. Next month’s payroll report, as well as weekly unemployment insurance data, will provide the next major indications on the state of US labor markets and the broader economy," Barclays´s Jesse Hurwitz said.