Labor Market at or Near Full Employment as Job Openings Hit 6.7 Million

​The Department of Labor reported, according to its Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey, that there were approximately 6.7 million job openings in April. It is the first time that job openings have exceeded the number of unemployed persons since January 1970, according to calculations from Nick Bunker, a senior policy analyst with Washington Center for Equitable Growth. In other news, weekly mortgage applications reversed nearly a month of negative growth, and US business activity for services increased in April. 

• Job openings increased to approximately 6.7 million in April, up from 6.6 million in March, according to the Department of Labor (DoL). In the DoL’s monthly Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey, or JOLTS for short, the DoL noted that job openings hit a record high, but hiring is lagging, suggesting a shortage of workers. The 6.7 million openings statistic is the highest since the DoL began tracking the metric in 2000. The labor market is currently considered near or at full employment.

• The seasonally adjusted IHS Markit US Services Business Activity Index increased to 56.8 in May, up from 54.6 in April. The increase – the fastest output expansion since April 2015 – was attributed to more favorable economic conditions and greater demand. Though weaker than April, the rate of expansion of new work is the third sharpest in the last three years.
  

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• Weekly mortgage applications increased 4.1% for the week ended June 1st. After falling for nearly a month, mortgage applications rebounded upon softening mortgage interest rates, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association. The average contract interest rate for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage with a confirming loan balance fell to 4.75% from 4.84%, leading to the lowest rate since April 20th.