WASHINGTON — U.S. companies promoted less tasks in May amidst indications that the economy is compromising, though the general need for employees stayed strong.
Employers published 11.3 million task openings at the end of May, the Labor Department stated Wednesday, down from almost 11.7 million in April. Job openings reached 11.9 million in March, the greatest level on records dating back more than 20 years. There are almost 2 task openings for every jobless individual, a sharp turnaround from the historical pattern: Before the pandemic, there were constantly more jobless individuals than readilyavailable tasks.
The figures show the uncommon nature of the post-pandemic economy: Inflation is hammering family budgetplans, requiring customers to pull back on costs, and development is weakening. Yet business are still rushing to include employees. Demand hasactually been especially strong in travel- and entertainment-related services.
Economists are carefully tracking the tasks opening figures for indications the labor market is cooling, which might bring down inflation. With business publishing so numerous readilyavailable positio