Record-Breaking Hiring in the U.S.
Working professionals and job seekers entering the workforce in the U.S. are currently experiencing record highs in the employment market. According to data collected by the United States Department of Labor, there has been a record increase in the number of hires over the past couple of months. The Job Openings and Labor Turnover Summary released on Monday, June 10 reported that there was a record high 5.9 million hirings in April of this year with a rate of 3.9%, which was the most recorded hirings in a single month since hiring data started being collected.
It is a special time for U.S. workers as there is an abundance of jobs constantly bringing in new employees. However, there is still a significant gap between job hirings and the actual number of job openings. Recorded on the last business day of April of this year, the number of job openings was reported at 7.4 million with a rate of 4.7%. Job openings increased in federal government and educational services and decreased in professional and business services. To fulfill these roles, companies have been turning to the services of cost-effective recruiting professionals who specialize in rapid recruiting such as Intrinsic Workforce Recruiters in an effort to fill open positions while capitalizing on saving money on hiring.
Total separations, or turnover, which includes quits (voluntary), layoffs, and discharges amongst other separations (retirement, death, disability, and location transfers), was tallied at 5.6 million in April at a rate of 3.7%, unchanged from the last recorded rate in March of this year. Separations increased in real estate and rental and leasing but decreased in federal government.
Quits tallied at 3.5 million at a rate of 2.3%, where they increased in real estate and rental and leasing as well as in state and local government, excluding education, but decreased in federal government. Quits have slightly increased over the last 12 months, with April being one of the highest, signifying more employees quitting their jobs and moving into new roles.
Layoffs and discharges were recorded at 1.8 million with a rate of 1.2%, increasing in real estate and leasing while little changes reported in other sectors.
Other separations remained nearly the same at 344 thousand with a rate of 0.2%. Very little change was reported for private and government sectors while increases were reported in accommodation and food services.
The data reported by the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Summary over the previous 12 months indicate that employment in the United States is rising with a net employment gain of 2.8 million. With the abundance of job openings, it is estimated that hirings will continue to rise in the coming months in today’s healthy job market.