More jobs, less hiring in June report

FILE - In this May 5, 2020 file photo, a help wanted sign shows at Illinois Air Team Test Station in Lincolnshire, Ill. U.S. employers advertised more jobs in June 2020 compared with May, but overall hiring fell, painting a mixed picture of the job market. The number of jobs posted on the last day in June jumped 9.6% to 5.9 million, the Labor Department said Monday, Aug. 10 a solid gain but still below the pre-pandemic level of about 7 million.   (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)
FILE - In this May 5, 2020 file photo, a help wanted sign shows at Illinois Air Team Test Station in Lincolnshire, Ill. U.S. employers advertised more jobs in June 2020 compared with May, but overall hiring fell, painting a mixed picture of the job market. The number of jobs posted on the last day in June jumped 9.6% to 5.9 million, the Labor Department said Monday, Aug. 10 a solid gain but still below the pre-pandemic level of about 7 million. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

WASHINGTON -- U.S. employers advertised more jobs in June compared with the previous month, but overall hiring fell, painting a mixed picture of the job market.

The number of jobs posted on the last day in June jumped 9.8% to 5.9 million from a revised 5.37 million in May, the Labor Department said Monday, a solid gain but still below the pre-pandemic level of about 7 million. And employers hired 6.7 million people in June, down from a record high 7.2 million in May.

The figures suggest that restaurants, bars, retail shops, and entertainment venues -- businesses that were subject to shutdown orders in April -- continued to bring back workers at a healthy pace in June. Job openings in those industries also rose.

But outside those categories, employers remain reluctant to bring on new workers, a trend that could weigh on the economy in the coming months. Hiring slowed sharply in manufacturing, construction, and health care services in June.

The government has previously reported that the nation gained 4.8 million jobs in June. That figure, however, is a net total, while Monday's report, known as the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey, provides gross hiring figures, without subtracting layoffs or quits.

Openings that involve workers recalled from layoffs or positions that are only offered internally are not counted in the figure.

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On Friday, the government said employers added a net 1.8 million jobs, a solid gain but far below June's increase and below the 2.7 million added in May. Employers slashed 22 million positions in March and April, and so far 42% of those lost jobs have been regained.

The number of people quitting their jobs, meanwhile, rose by 522,000 to nearly 2.6 million, a huge gain that is unusual in the depths of the recession, when workers typically try to hold on to their jobs. Many workers may be reluctant to remain in jobs that they believe put their health at risk. Economists also worry that many women and men are quitting jobs to look after children, a trend that could also hold back job growth.

Even so, the quitting rate remains well below where it was at the start of the year, when the jobs market was at its best in decades, illustrating lingering slack in the job market.

The increase in job openings, which occurred in all U.S. regions, reflected a 198,000 gain in vacancies within accommodation and food services. Openings also rose 71,000 in the health care and social assistance industry. Vacancies declined in construction and state and local government education.

Employers continued to add to payrolls at a steady pace in July, according to the agency's latest monthly jobs data issued Friday. Yet further outsize job gains could be in question as companies are well along in their efforts of getting headcounts in line with demand.

The Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey data lags behind the monthly employment report by a month, but it offers a level of detail not available in the jobs report. However, the two are not directly comparable across all categories. For employment, the reference period is the pay period that includes the 12th of the month -- the same as the payroll survey in the jobs report -- but for job openings it's the last business day of the month and for hires and separations, it's the entire calendar month.

Information for this article was contributed by Christopher Rugaber of The Associated Press and by Vince Golle of Bloomberg News.

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