Quits rate for jobs holds steady in March

A measure of how many U.S. workers quit their jobs held steady in March, suggesting a recent slowdown in hiring has not triggered a major deterioration of confidence in the labor market.

WASHINGTON — U.S. employers advertised more job openings in January, suggesting that hiring will remain healthy in the coming months. Job openings rose 2.2 percent in January from December to 3.69 million, the Labor Department said Tuesday. Openings had fallen nearly 5 percent in December. They are still below November’s level of nearly 3.8 million. There were other positive signs: Employers laid off the fewest workers in January than in any month since records began in 2001. And the number of Americans quitting their jobs rose to the highest in more than four years.

WASHINGTON — U.S. employers advertised more job openings in January, suggesting that hiring will remain healthy in the coming months. Job openings rose 2.2 percent in January from December to 3.69 million, the Labor Department said Tuesday. Openings had fallen nearly 5 percent in December. They are still below November’s level of nearly 3.8 million. There were other positive signs: Employers laid off the fewest workers in January than in any month since records began in 2001. And the number of Americans quitting their jobs rose to the highest in more than four years.

According to Friday's jobs report, the economy added 165,000 new nonfarm payrolls in April, which was much more than what economists had expected. Furthermore, the numbers for February and March were revised up significantly.

WASHINGTON — The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits unexpectedly fell to its lowest since the early days of the 2007-09 recession, a hopeful sign for the sluggish labor market. Initial claims for state unemployment benefits fell 5,000 to a seasonally adjusted 330,000, the lowest level since January 2008, the Labor Department said on Thursday. Claims have now fallen for two straight weeks, suggesting that if employers are concerned tax hikes enacted this year will affect consumer demand, this is not leading to more layoffs.

In another sign that the labor market is slowing recovering, the number of workers quitting their jobs is rising (see chart above).  In February, almost 2.1 million Americans quit their j

(WASHINGTON) — U.S. employers posted fewer job openings in March compared with February and slowed overall hiring, underscoring a weak month of job growth. The Labor Department said Tuesday that job openings fell 1.4 percent to a seasonally adjusted 3.8 million jobs. Total hiring declined 4.3 percent to 4.3 million. The unemployed faced heavy competition in March. There were 3.1 unemployed people, on average, for each job opening. That’s above the ratio of 2 to 1 that is typical in a healthy economy. (MORE: U.S.

By Mark J. Perry: (Click chart to enlarge)In another sign that the labor market is slowly recovering, the number of workers quitting their jobs is rising (see chart above). In February, almost 2.1 million Americans quit their jobs, and it was the sixth month out of the last eight months that more than 2 million workers voluntarily left their job. The February count was the highest number of monthly quits since November 2008, more than three years ago.