U.S. job openings surged in June to a record high
WASHINGTON — U.S. employers posted a record number of open jobs in June, a sign that the solid hiring of recent months will likely continue.
Job openings jumped 8 percent to 6.2 million, the highest on records dating back to 2000, the Labor Department said Tuesday. Hiring fell, however, and the number of people quitting their jobs also dropped.
The data suggest that employers have plenty of jobs to fill but are struggling to find the qualified workers they need.
Job openings in construction and manufacturing rose sharply. They also increased in financial services, health care, and in state and local government. The number of open jobs in retail fell.
On Wall Street Tuesday, losses in health care and consumer-focused companies pulled stocks lower, snapping a 10-day winning streak for the Dow Jones industrial average. Energy stocks also fell along with the price of crude oil.
The market slide accelerated slightly in the last half-hour of trading as President Donald Trump denounced North Korea’s nuclear program.
Trump warned North Korea not to make any more threats against the U.S., adding that North Korea would be “met with fire and fury like the world has never seen.”
“That may have weighed a little bit” on markets, said Phil Guarco, a specialist at J.P. Morgan Private Bank.
The VIX, a measure of how much volatility investors expect in stocks, jumped 10.4 percent.