Job Openings And The Level Of People Quitting Their Jobs Reached Records In March

• Employment openings exceeded the level of available workers by 5.6Mn in March while a record number of people quit their jobs, the Labour Department reported Tuesday. The level of job postings hit 11.55Mn for the month, also a fresh record for data that goes back to December 2000, according to the Job Openings and Labour Turnover Survey. That was up 205,000 from February and representative of a job market still historically tight. 
• At the same time, quits totaled 4.54Mn, an increase of 152,000 from the previous month as the so-called Great Resignation continued. The Covid pandemic era has seen opportunities for workers who feel confident enough to leave their current situations for better employment elsewhere. 
• The report adds to an inflationary picture that is expected to push the Federal Reserve into a series of aggressive rate hikes, starting with a half-percentage point move Wednesday. 
• A shortage of labour supply during the pandemic has caused a surge in wages, with average hourly earnings up 5.6% from a year ago in March. Still, that hasn’t kept up with inflation, which has run at an 8.5% pace over the same time period. Supply failed to keep up with demand in March, with the level of new hires declining slightly to 6.74Mn despite the increase in openings. Total separations rose to 6.32Mn, a rise of nearly 4% from February.

(Source: CNBC News)