US jobs openings surge to record high in June

[WASHINGTON] US job openings jumped to a record high in June, outpacing hiring, the latest indication that companies are having trouble finding qualified workers.

The Labor Department said on Tuesday that job openings, a measure of labour demand, increased 461,000 to a seasonally adjusted 6.2 million.

That was the highest level since the series started in December 2000 and pushed the jobs openings rate up two-tenths of a percentage point to a near one-year high of 4 per cent. The monthly increase in job openings was the largest since July 2015.

Hiring increased to 5.5 million in June from 5.4 million prior month. The hiring rate was unchanged at 3.7 per cent. The gap between job openings and hiring points to a skills mismatch.

REUTERS