Investing.com - The number of job openings in the U.S. fell in December, official data showed on Tuesday.
In the release of the monthly Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS), the U.S. Labor Department said that the number of job openings, excluding the farming industry, fell to 5.811 million in December, compared to expectations for a reading of 5.950 million.
November’s data was revised to 5.978 million from the initial reading of 5.879 million.
Additionally, the release noted that, over the month, hires and separations were little changed at 5.5 million and 5.2 million, respectively.
Within separations, the quits rate and the layoffs and discharges rate were little changed at 2.2% and 1.1%, respectively.
Over the 12 months ending in December, hires totaled 64.7 million and separations totaled 62.6 million, yielding a net employment gain of 2.2 million.