Economic Report: Job openings in U.S. jump to 7.49 million — more proof of ultra–strong labor market

The number of U.S. job openings rebounded to a near-record 7.5 million in March, showing that companies are still willing to hire even though the economy is not growing as rapidly as it was a year earlier. Read More...

Job openings in the United States rebounded in March to 7.49 million after falling to a 9-month low in February.

The numbers: The number of U.S. job openings rebounded to a near-record 7.49 million in March, showing that companies are still ready and willing to hire even though the economy is not growing as rapidly as it was a year earlier.

Job openings had fallen to nine-month low of 7.14 million in February, when hiring was crimped by poor weather and the lingering effects of a partial government shutdown. Openings hit an all-time high of 7.63 million last November.

Read: U.S. creates 263,000 jobs in April as unemployment falls to 49-year low

What happened: Transportation and warehousing companies — the firms that deliver Internet packages — increased help-wanted ads by 87,000. Job listings for construction rose 73,000. And real estate related job openings climbed by 57,000.

Job openings for the federal government fell by 15,000, the Labor Department said Tuesday.

The share of people who left jobs on their own, known as the quits rate, was flat at 2.5% among private-sector employees. The rate was 2.3% for all workers including those in government.

More workers tend to quit when they feel secure enough to leave one job for another — a sign of a healthy economy. The quit rate has risen steadily in the past decade from a postrecession low of 1.4%, though it appears to have peaked.

Big picture: A strong labor market is acting as guardrails for the U.S. economy, keeping it on track to break the record for longest expansion ever in a few months. The rate of unemployment fell last month to a nearly 50-year low of 3.6% and layoffs are also at a half-century low.

Read: Stars are aligned for economy as it closes in on record for longest expansion

The pace of hiring has slowed since last fall and job openings have come off their record highs, but there are still more jobs available than there are unemployed Americans. Some 5.8 million people were classified as unemployed in April, meaning they want to work and are actively seeking a job.

Market reaction: The Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA, -1.23% and S&P 500 SPX, -1.32% fell sharply again in Tuesday trades, setting up a second straight loss amid a flareup in trade tensions between the Trump White House and China.

Read: Market calm shattered: Trump tariff threat ‘raises odds of further tariff escalation’

The 10-year Treasury yield TMUBMUSD10Y, -0.58% fell slightly to 2.47%. Many loans including mortgages are tied to the 10-year note, whose yield has tumbled from a seven-year high of 3.23% in October.