Economics
U.S. Job Openings Unexpectedly Increase as Hires Climb to Record
- Openings of 5.4 million in May exceeded 4.5 million forecast
- Separations plummet, while quits rate only inches higher
People walk down a street lined with outdoor seating for restaurants in the Little Italy neighborhood of New York on July 6.
Photographer: Angus Mordant/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
U.S. job openings unexpectedly increased in May as state economies stirred to life and businesses looked to hire anew.
The number of available positions rose to 5.4 million during the month from 5 million in April, according to the Labor Department’s Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey, or JOLTS, released Tuesday. The median forecast in a Bloomberg survey of economists called for 4.5 million openings. Job openings that involve workers recalled from layoffs or positions that are only offered internally are not counted in the figure.