U.S. job openings hit an all-time high of 5.87 million in July, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Wednesday, up 228,000 from the month before.
That record just eclipsed the previous high, of 5.85 million in April.
Private-sector job vacancies also hit an all-time high, of 5.36 million, also beating a record set in April.
There are now just 1.3 workers for each advertised job opening, the lowest such ratio since early 2001 and a sign that the labor market is tight. During the worst days of the recession, that ration was closer to 7 workers for each vacancy.
“Obviously, there are millions of jobs going begging right now in what has got to be one of the biggest mismatches between skills and lack of qualified help available in the nation’s history,” MUFG Union Bank economist Chris Rupkey wrote in reaction to the numbers.
While job creation reached new peaks in July, actual hiring was not as encouraging. Hiring changed little in July, the report said, at 5.2 million, up from 5.13 million in June. Hiring has dropped off significantly since the spring.
Wednesday’s data come from the Bureau’s Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey, a report that includes the latest data on hiring, layoffs, and other gross job changes.
Investors and officials at the Federal Reserve value the monthly report because it can help show which way the economy is headed, even though it is released with a one-month lag behind the more widely noted payroll jobs report.
The latest net job numbers fell short of expectations, showing that the U.S. added 151,000 jobs in July. Over the past three months, however, job creation has averaged 232,000, more than enough to keep the unemployment rate trending down.
