WASHINGTON: US job openings fell in May, pulled down by declines in the construction and transportation industries, potentially flagging a slowdown in employment growth in the months ahead.
Job openings, a measure of labor demand, slipped by 49,000 to a seasonally adjusted 7.3 million in May, the Labor Department said in its monthly Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey, or JOLTS on Tuesday. The job openings rate dipped to 4.6pc from 4.7pc in April.
Hiring dropped by 266,000 to 5.7 million in May, with the biggest decrease in the professional and business services industry. The hiring rate fell to 3.8pc from 4.0pc in April.
Nonfarm payrolls surged by 224,000 jobs in June after increasing only by 72,000 in May, the government reported last Friday.
The unemployment rate rose one-tenth of a percentage point to 3.7pc as more people entered the labor market, a sign of confidence in their employment prospects.
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