Job Openings in U.S. Decrease to 2.72 Million (Update2)
By Bob Willis
April 6 (Bloomberg) -- Job openings in the U.S. fell in February for the first time in three months, a sign employers will be slow to expand staff even as firings subside.
Openings decreased by 131,000 to 2.72 million, the Labor Department said today in Washington. Fewer people were hired and the number of workers fired also decreased, the report also showed.
“Conditions in the labor market will continue to be tenuous as firms look for a pickup in sales activity before increasing employment opportunities,” Maxwell Clarke, chief U.S. economist at IDEAglobal in New York, said before the report. “Although labor conditions remain weak, we anticipate further improvement taking hold in coming months as conditions gradually improve.”
Employers in the world’s largest economy added 162,000 workers to payrolls in March, the most in three years, the government reported last week. The figures also showed more people had to take part-time jobs because of a lack of full-time opportunities and the average length of unemployment climbed to a record 31.2 weeks.
Openings fell 4.6 percent in February from a revised 2.85 million in January that was larger than previously estimated.
The rate of job openings in February fell to 2.1 from 2.2 the prior month, according to today’s report. Education and health services accounted for the biggest decrease in available jobs while manufacturers and retailers showed gains in help wanted.
Unemployed per Opening
Compared with the 14.9 million Americans who were unemployed in February, the figures indicate there are more than 5 people vying for every opening, up from about 1.8 when the recession began in December 2007.
The report helps shed light on the dynamics behind the monthly employment figures. Payrolls declined by 14,000 workers in February before last month’s increase, according to Labor Department figures released on April 2. The unemployment rate held at 9.7 percent and has not increased since October.
Employers took on 3.96 million workers in February, 126,000 fewer than in the previous month and the lowest number since June, today’s report showed. Total firings, which exclude those who left their jobs voluntarily and retirements, dropped to 1.82 million in February, the fewest since March 2007.
Adding Staff
Home Depot Inc., the largest U.S. home-improvement retailer, is among companies hiring. The Atlanta-based merchant is increasing store jobs for the first time in four years in anticipation of a rebound in sales.
“We have already added to our payroll this year,” Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Frank Blake said in an interview yesterday in Atlanta. “As you have positive transaction growth, you need more associates to handle that in the stores.”
Retailing stocks are among those outperforming the broader market so far this year as consumer spending, which accounts for 70 percent of the economy improves. The Standard & Poor’s Supercomposite Retailing Index was up 13 percent so far this year as of 11 a.m. in New York, compared to the S&P 500 Index which has climbed 6.4 percent.
Other companies continue to cut staff. International Business Machines Corp., the world’s largest computer-services provider, fired about 2,400 workers, mostly in the U.S., according to an employee advocacy group.
The cuts in late February occurred around the country and across several divisions, Lee Conrad, national director of Alliance@IBM, which represents some employees, said March 2. IBM fired 10,400 people in the U.S. and Canada last year, he said.
In the 12 months ended in February, the economy lost 3.2 million jobs, representing 51.5 million separations compared to 48.3 million hires, today’s report showed.
1 comment:
Unemployment is the worst case, but these can be minimized through education to everyone. In India, Government has made compulsory education to the all the children's and i hope in future there are more job openings and everyone gets benefited.
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