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Many Open Jobs and Few Workers Could Slow Employment Growth
May 7, 2019
Job openings surged in March. There were 346,000 new vacancies, for a seasonally adjusted total of 7.5 million, according to the Labor Department. This was a substantial increase from the previous month. What is missing, however, is a commensurate increase in hiring. Hiring stood at 5.7 million in March, little changed from the month before. While a surplus of available jobs over new hires can generally be a good thing, and can drive wage growth, the increase in openings without a corresponding increase in hiring may suggest a shortage of workers. This could slow employment growth in the coming months.
