The numbers: The number of U.S. job openings rebounded to a near-record 7.49 million in March, showing that companies are still ready and willing to hire even though the economy is not growing as rapidly as it was a year earlier.
Job openings had fallen to nine-month low of 7.14 million in February, when hiring was crimped by poor weather and the lingering effects of a partial government shutdown. Openings hit an all-time high of 7.63 million last November.What happened: Transportation and warehousing companies — the firms that deliver internet packages — increased help-wanted ads by 87,000. Job listings for construction rose 73,000. And real estate related job openings climbed by 57,000.
More workers tend to quit when they feel secure enough to leave one job for another — a sign of a healthy economy. The quits rate has risen steadily in the past decade from a post-recession low of 1.4%, though it appears to have peaked. Big picture: A strong labor market is acting as guardrails for the U.S. economy, keeping it on track to break the record for longest expansion ever in a few months. The rate of unemployment fell last month to a nearly 50-year low of 3.6% and layoffs are also at a half-century low.The pace of hiring has slowed since last fall and job openings have come off their record highs, but there are still more jobs available than there are unemployed Americans. Some 5.
Market reaction: The Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA, -1.05% and S&P 500 SPX, -1.13% fell sharply again in Tuesday trades, setting up a second straight loss amid a flareup in trade tensions between the Trump White House and China.The 10-year Treasury yield TMUBMUSD10Y, -0.36% fell slightly to 2.47%. Many loans including mortgages are tied to the 10-year note, whose yield has tumbled from a seven-year high of 3.23% in October.
BECAUSE MORE PEOPLE ARE LEAVING THE JOB FORCE NOT MORE JOBS BEING CREATED...