In what could be a clear indication of a modest hiring pattern in the coming months, latest data from the Labor Department reveals that job openings in the United States have dropped to a five-month low in September.
The number of vacant job positions came down drastically by 100,000 to 3.56 million from October, the Labor Department said in a statement. The September number is the lowest in five months and August's openings were revised up to 3.66 million. Although layoffs fell during the month, employers posted fewer job openings.
New openings had reached a peak earlier this year, up to 3.74 million jobs in March and available jobs increased about 63 percent since the recession ended. However, the job requirements remained well below the more than 4 million jobs a month advertised before the economic slowdown.
The data provides a very competitive job market as there were 3.4 unemployed people, on average, competing for each open job. There were 12.1 million people unemployed in September. The ratio should be roughly 2-to-1 in a healthy economy.
September had the lowest number of job quits in 10 months, which is considered a bad sign for the job market as it suggests that employees see fewer opportunities to move to a better job. Workers are more likely to leave their jobs when they feel there are better offers.
Hiring was better in October as there were 171,000 jobs posted and hiring in August and September was better than first estimated. "The unemployment rate rose to 7.9 percent from 7.8 percent. But that was because more Americans began searching for work, likely reflecting increasing optimism about their chances," USA Today reported.
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