Job openings in the U.S. fall to 2-year low

The numbers: The number of job openings in the U.S. fell to a two-year low at the end of 2019, reflecting a slowdown in hiring tied to a softening economy.

Job openings sank to 6.42 million in December from 6.79 million, the Labor Department said Tuesday. It’s the second significant decline in a row and they fell by more than 1 million in the past 12 months.

Just one year earlier, job openings climbed to the highest level on record at 7.63 million.

While the sudden drop in openings is worrisome, hiring has not slowed quite as rapidly. The U.S. added a robust 225,000 new jobs in January to keep the unemployment rate near a 50-year low of 3.6%.

What happened: Job openings declined the most in transportation, warehousing, real estate and education.

Very few industries posted more job listings.

A closely followed measure that tracks when workers leave one job for another, known as the quits rate, slipped a notch to 2.5% in the private sector. The rate hit a 14-year peak of 2.7% last summer.

More workers quit when the economy is good and they think they can find a better or better-paying jobs. Fewer quit if they are less certain about the economy.

Big picture: There’s still plenty of work to be found for those who are looking. The number of available jobs continue to top the 5.9 million Americans officially classified as unemployed.

Perhaps a bigger problem is a shortage of skilled workers given the tight labor market. Many jobs haven’t been filled because companies can’t find the right people to fill them.

The economy, meanwhile, has shown more oomph in early 2020.

What remains to be seen is whether openings snap back in January after unusually big back-to-back declines at the end of 2019.

Whatever the case, the strong U.S labor market is keeping the economy churning ahead. The economy has been growing for a record 10½ years.