US job openings decline by more than forecast in March

(Sharecast News) - According to the Department of Labor, the number of job openings in the US fell at a seasonally adjusted pace of 3.9% in March to reach 7.192m.

Economists had forecast a reading of 7.5m.

As well, the prior month's estimate was revised down from an initial estimate of 7.57m to 7.48m.

Hiring meanwhile was up by 0.8% when compared with February to reach 5.411m.

In parallel, total separations declined by 3.4% to 5.137m.

However, the proportion of voluntary separations, or so-called 'quits', which economists say denotes confidence in the strength of the labour market, increased by one tenth of a percentage point to 2.1% in comparison to the month before.

"The March JOLTS report showed some cooling of labor-market conditions, but it wasn't weak enough to bring forward our rate-cut expectations [for a first reduction in December] as the Federal Reserve will be monitoring the impact of tariffs on inflation," said Nancy Vanden Houten at Oxford Economics.

"[...] For the first time since a hiring freeze was imposed in January, the JOLTS data showed a significant drop in openings for federal government workers in March. Layoffs of federal workers declined, but we expect the pace of federal layoffs to re- accelerate in the months ahead."