Category: job market

US Job Openings Surge to Record 9.3 Million in April

WASHINGTON—U.S. employers posted a record 9.3 million job openings in April with the U.S. economy reopening at breakneck speed. The number of job openings soared 12 percent from the 8.3 million counted in March. But employers hired just 6.1 million, up one percent from March, according to a Labor Department report Tuesday, suggesting that positions…


Huntington Beach Considers Spending $175K on Study of City Jobs 

Huntington Beach city council is set to determine if it will spend $175,000 for a consultant to perform a “classification and compensation” study. The plan seeks to organize all of the city’s job descriptions into logical categories that would enable Huntington Beach to have a fair and effective merit-based employment system, according to a recent staff report. Council will vote…


US Jobless Claims Tick up to 745,000 as Layoffs Remain High

WASHINGTON—The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits edged higher last week to 745,000, a sign that many employers continue to cut jobs despite a drop in confirmed viral infections and evidence that the overall economy is improving. Thursday’s report from the Labor Department showed that jobless claims rose by 9,000 from the previous week….


Federal Reserve Sees Modest Pickup in Hiring This Month

WASHINGTON—The Federal Reserve says there’s evidence that hiring has picked up in recent weeks, even as the job market remains badly damaged by the pandemic. In its semi-annual monetary policy report released on Feb. 19, the Fed said it’s been watching job data compiled by payroll processor ADP. The Fed has constructed its own measurement…


US Employment Costs Rise Modestly in Fourth Quarter

SILVER SPRING, Md.—Wages and benefits for U.S. workers rose in the last quarter of the year, putting all of 2020 in somewhat of a normal range as the pandemic continued to rankle the economy. Total U.S. workers compensation rose 0.7 percent in the October-December quarter, an increase over the previous two quarters, the Labor Department…


US Employment Costs Rose Modestly in Fourth Quarter

SILVER SPRING, Md.—Wages and benefits for U.S. workers rose in the last quarter of 2020, putting the entire year in somewhat of a normal range as the pandemic continued to rankle the economy. Total U.S. workers’ compensation rose 0.7 percent in the October-December quarter, an increase over the previous two quarters, the Labor Department said on…