Dow Jones Newswires | Job turnover in the U.S. economy remained
at depressed levels in April though there were signs of a slow thawing,
according to data released Tuesday by the Labor Department.

The number of people leaving their jobs was close to the lowest on
record as the number of layoffs fell to a three-year low. The number of
people quitting voluntarily ticked higher at an extremely low level.

The number of unfilled job openings at the end of the month increased from a seasonally adjusted 2.8 million in March to 3.1 million in April, the highest in 16 months.

Job openings have increased significantly in the last 10 months but were still down about 36 percent from prerecession levels.

With 15 million people officially classified as unemployed in April, there were five potential applicants for each job, down from 6.2 in November.

“This is a quite positive report, which indicates that the ongoing rebound in demand is causing firms to look to increase employment as they ramp up production,” wrote Nicholas Tenev, an economist for Barclays Capital.

But prospects for the long-term unemployed remained grim, said Lawrence Mishel, president of the Economic Policy Institute. “It should be clear to all that the long-term unemployed are still beset by a monumental labor market failure and need assistance to weather these circumstances,” Mishel said. “Moreover, the economic case for additional government action to generate employment is equally clear.”

About 6.8 million Americans have been officially unemployed for longer than six months, and millions more have dropped out of the labor force or never entered it because they don’t think they can find work.

Hiring was essentially flat in April compared with March, but was up about 12 percent from the depths of the recession a year ago.

Most hiring is coming from the ranks of the already employed, said Cathy Farley, a managing director for Accenture specializing in employment. She said companies must step up their efforts to retrain people in needed skills.

The total number of workers hired in April was steady at 4.3 million, while the number who left jobs held at 4 million, close to the record low set in February, the government data showed. The hiring and separations numbers are consistent with a separate report that showed that nonfarm payrolls increased by 290,000 in April.

The government’s job openings and labor turnover survey measures gross job flows from hiring and separations. The data in the government’s job openings and labor turnover report begin in 2000. The separate monthly nonfarm payroll report provides data only on net job gains or losses, but it is released quicker.

Compared with the peak in 2007, hiring was down about 21 percent in April and separations were down about 25 percent.

There was further improvement in the reasons for leaving jobs, with more people quitting voluntarily and fewer being laid off or discharged involuntarily.

Layoffs declined from 1.8 million to 1.7 million, the lowest since January 2007. The number of workers who quit increased from 1.9 million to 2 million, the highest in 14 months.