Record Number of Job Openings Stands to Stir Wages – Wall Street Journal

June 9, 2015 8:46 p.m. ET

The number of U.S. job openings rose to the highest level on record in April, a sign of health in the labor market that could stir upward wage pressure.

The U.S. had 5.4 million job openings in April, up from 5.1 million in March, according to the Labor Department's latest Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey, released Tuesday.

The total was the highest since the department began conducting the so-called Jolts survey in 2000. The number of hires stood at 5 million, a slight dip from March. The share of workers who voluntarily quit their jobs dropped slightly in April but remained at 1.9%.

For the year, job openings were up in services, health care and social-assistance industries but they fell in mining and logging industries, reflecting employers' responses to lower energy prices. The number of hires for the year grew among hotel and food-service industries as well as among state and local governments, a sign of healthier budgets.

The record number of job openings could be a harbinger of higher wage growth, Joel Naroff of Naroff Economic Advisors said in a note to clients. "If firms are to fill all those openings, they will have to start attracting workers from other firms or occupations, and the best way to do that is by raising wage offers," he wrote.

The number of hires recorded by the Labor Department has traditionally exceeded the number of job openings. But the gap has closed in recent months and, in April, there were 369,000 more openings than hires.

Meanwhile, the share of the workforce laid off or otherwise dismissed remained at 1.3%, similar to rates before the recession. And while the share of workers who quit their jobs voluntarily dropped slightly, it remained higher than at almost any point during the recovery.

Federal Reserve officials closely follow the Jolts report. Fed Chairwoman Janet Yellen has said she considers the number of people who voluntarily quit their jobs each month an important indicator of the labor market's health. In a growing economy, workers are more willing to quit their jobs because they are confident of finding another one soon.

Tuesday's report complements last week's jobs report, which found that the economy created 280,000 jobs in May, a sign that the labor market has recovered from its winter doldrums. Analysts said the upbeat jobs numbers mean the Fed is likely on track to raise rates in September.