The usual caveat–the Department of Labor uses surveys for this data and the response rate is very low, which does raise questions about potential bias and accuracy. The report covers data from April and covers job openings, hiring and terminations. Job openings rose slightly by about 190,000 to about 7.4 million in total. There are slightly more openings than unemployed people, but a lot of those unemployed people don’t really want to work and a lot of the openings are posted jobs that the companies aren’t that hot to fill. Federal government job openings miraculously rose, while state and local ones declined. Hotel and restaurant openings declined, while those in information, business and professional services, arts, entertainment and recreation rose. Despite all the tariff-related prattling about manufacturing, there is no noticeable increase in openings in that sector.
In regard to hiring, some rise in construction and in hotel and food services, some decline in wholesale and retail trade and finance. A rise in hiring in a sector may be associated with a decline in openings, and an increase in separations may lead to more openings. Separations were little changed, both voluntary and involuntary, with the noticable decreases in wholesale and retail trade, and increases in professional services and health care and hospitality. Again, for all the wailing and moaning about federal job cuts, not a lot of people losing or leaving jobs in that sector, unfortunately. All in all, kind of picture of job market stability. (BLS Release)
