The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Job openings reach record high in April
Yet hiring fell, signaling the economy is nearing or at ‘full employment.’
WASHINGTON — U.S. employers in April advertised the most open jobs in 16 years, yet hiring fell and fewer people quit work. The figures suggest that businesses are struggling to find qualified employees as the unemployment rate declines.
Job openings rose 4.5 percent in April to more than 6 million, the Labor Department said Tuesday, the most since December 2000, when the government first began tracking the data. Meanwhile, hiring fell 4.8 percent to just over 5 million.
The report is a sign the economy is nearing or already at “full employment,” when most of those who want a job have one and the unemployment rate mostly reflects the churn of people who are temporarily out of work. Typically, when unemployment falls that low, companies are forced to offer more pay, but that hasn’t yet happened.
On Friday, the government reported that average hourly pay rose just 2.5 percent in May from a year earlier. That’s improved a bit from several years ago, but is still below the pre-recession pace of about 4 percent.
The government also said Friday that employers added just 138,000 jobs last month, about one-third below last year’s average monthly gain. Friday’s figures represent a net total of jobs added minus jobs lost, while Tuesday’s report includes overall hiring data.
Most economists interpreted last month’s decline in net job gains as a sign of full employment, which is mostly a good thing, as opposed to evidence of a slowing economy.
Yet that still leaves one question unanswered: Why aren’t companies paying more, if they are so intent on hiring?
Some economists argue that slower pay raises suggest they may not be so desperate after all. It’s easy to post jobs on a website, but employers may not follow through by recruiting more and offering higher pay.