Economic activity in the manufacturing sector contracted in March after two consecutive months of expansion preceded by 26 straight months of contraction, say the nation's supply ...

The number of job openings was little changed at 7.6 million in February, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Over the month, hires and total separations held at 5.4 million and 5.3 million, respectively. Within separations, quits (3.2 million) and layoffs and discharges (1.8 million) changed little. This release includes estimates of the number and rate of job openings, hires, and separations for the total nonfarm sector, by industry, and by establishment size class. Job openings include all positions that are open on the last business day of the month. Hires and separations include all changes to the payroll during the entire. Job Openings The number of job openings was little changed at 7.6 million in February but was down by 877,000 over the year. The job openings rate, at 4.5 percent, changed little over the month. The number of job openings decreased in finance and insurance (-80,000). (See table 1.) Hires In February, the number and rate of hires were unchanged at 5.4 million and 3.4 percent, respectively. The number of hires was little changed in all industries in February. (See table 2.) Separations Total separations include quits, layoffs and discharges, and other separations. Quits are generally voluntary separations initiated by the employee. Therefore, the quits rate can serve as a measure of workers’ willingness or ability to leave jobs. Layoffs and discharges are involuntary separations initiated by the employer. Other separations include separations due to retirement, death, disability, and transfers to other locations of the same firm. post: No sign of any hiring reacceleration in the JOLTS series for February. Job openings continue to grind lower. There were 1.07 openings for every worker counted as unemployed in February, little changed from the recent trend. Hiring and firing held steady. Quits edged down. pic.twitter.com/ZRvXaNb3Ng