Americans may have been looking for jobs in their respective fields, but in May, it appears, there were fewer openings for them, according to figures released Tuesday.
The U.S. Labor Department reported in its JOLTS release that job openings slipped by 49,000 to a seasonally adjusted 7.3 million in May. The terms JOLTS is an acronym for Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey. The job openings rate dipped to 4.6% from 4.7% in April.
The report went on to say that hiring dropped by 266,000 to 5.7 million in May, with the biggest decrease in the professional and business services industry. The hiring rate fell to 3.8% from 4.0% in April.
Washington reported last Friday that non-farm payrolls surged by 224,000 jobs in June after increasing only by 72,000 in May. The unemployment rate rose one-10th of a percentage point to 3.7% as more people entered the labour market stateside, a sign of confidence in their employment prospects.
