Job Openings Are Increasing

Yesterday, according to the Conference Board the number of job openings listed online in the United States grew by 400,000 to 4.2 million last month.  In percentage terms this is a 10.5% increase.

Analysis: Clearly this is good news and is among a number of recent positive labor market signs, including the recent unemployment figures for February.  For the number of actual new jobs to grow businesses have to actively be prospecting for candidates.  An increase in one month of over 10% is a fantastic result and indicates an interest in hiring.  This is the continuation of a trend that began almost two years ago.

While the number of job openings growing is good news, what is not good news is that the length of time it takes for a company to make a hiring decision has lengthened.  This is a polite way of saying that it is a buyers’ market – if you are a buyer of labor.  That is, companies know that there are many qualified candidates out there and they are taking their time to find the “best” candidate.  Sadly, this is one of the frequently untold consequences of a recession on the general population.  In boom times, when labor is scarce, it is very easy to find a job and to find one quickly.

In the meantime, we will take this news for what it is: a positive sign, if not a definitive sign, that the labor market has improved.

Importance grade: 6; while it may seem as if this is very important data, the fact is that actual jobs created is a substantially more important number.

Jason