Job Openings Fall, Still Far Ahead Of Hirings

Job openings fell back 2.8 percent in February to 6.052 million but still remain well out in front of openings which fell 1.2 percent to 5.507 million. Year-on-year, openings are up 7.7 percent vs only a 4.6 percent rise for hirings.

The 0.545 million gap between openings and hirings is very wide and hints at full employment, that is there are more jobs than workers. And employers aren't taking any risks with the workers they have, evidenced by separations which fell 2.4 percent to 5.192 million.

Lack of available labor could be an increasing factor that holds back business expansion. Useful comparisons for this report are the 6.585 million unemployed actively looking for work and the 11.681 million in the total available labor pool.