Employers in May has posted the maximum number of job openings in seven years but hiring continued to lag, the Labor Department said on Tuesday. Businesses and governments advertised 4.6 million openings in May, the most since June 2007, according to the Job openings and Labor Turnover survey.
The number of hires, however, dipped from 4.8 million to 4.7 million. Job openings have risen solidly during the recovery, but hiring has not kept pace. Over the past year, openings have increased about 16% while the number of hires has increased by 6%.
Some economists have attributed the display to mismatch between the skills of unemployed Americans and those required by employers. Others say employers are being particularly selective because of the still-high unemployment rate.
In May, hiring accelerated among construction companies but dropped in professional and business services, education and health, and leisure and hospitality. Meanwhile, the number of people quitting jobs rose slightly to 2.5 million. Quitting is typically a sign of a robust labor market in which workers feel confident enough to leave current positions.
An encouraging sign is that there were an average 2.1 unemployed people for every job opening in May. That’s down from a peak of 6.7 in July 2009 and close to the 2 to 1 ratio that reflects a healthy job market.