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U.S. Job Openings Rise, Outnumber Unemployed By 1 Million
The number of job openings for U.S. employers was little changed at 7.6 million at the end of January, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported. That means the number of available jobs now exceeds the unemployed by roughly 1 million.
During January, hires and separations were little changed at 5.8 million and 5.6 million, respectively. Within separations, the January quits rate was unchanged at 2.3%, and the layoffs and discharges rate was little changed at 1.1%.
The annual number of hires reached 68.9 million in 2018, an increase of 3.3 million from 2017, while the annual number of total separations rose by 2.6 million in 2018 to 66.1 million. The number of quits reached 40.1 million, an increase of 2.4 million, marking the ninth consecutive year the number rose. The annual number of layoffs and discharges edged up by 307,000 in 2018 to 21.9 million.
The January job openings rate was 4.8%. The number of job openings was little changed for total private and increased for government (+59,000). Job openings increased in a number of industries, with the largest increases in wholesale trade (+91,000), real estate and rental and leasing (+60,000), and information (+42,000). The job openings level decreased in other services (-98,000), retail trade (-97,000), and arts, entertainment, and recreation (-40,000).
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