JOLTS Report Update

JOLTS Report Update JOLTS Report Update May job openings were little changed from April at 7.3 million. The number of workers who were hired fell, and there was little change in the number of people who quit or were laid off. Here is a summary of key data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ just-released Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS): Job openings: 7.3 million People hired: 5.7 million People who left their jobs (total): 5.5 million People who left their jobs (voluntarily quit): 3.4 million People who left their jobs (layoff or involuntary reason): 1.8 million People who left their jobs (retirement or other reason): 310,000   Hiring managers continue to face a highly competitive market for top job candidates, many of whom receive multiple offers. There are more vacant positions than unemployed people in the U.S., making hiring even more challenging.   In a survey of senior managers, 20 percent said their biggest hiring hurdle was asking the right interview questions. Here are some tips to help you get more out of the interview questions you ask: Prepare for a phone interview like a regular interview. Ask strong phone interview questions to determine which candidates are worth bringing in for a sit-down interview. You can’t afford to waste time with a candidate who doesn’t meet your qualifications. Ask interview questions that touch on technical and soft skills. At the in-person meeting, your interview questions should help you understand if the candidate has the skills to do the job and will be a good fit with your existing team.   Understand the different types of interview questions. If you don’t know the difference between closed- and open-ended questions, or when (and if) you should ask outside-the-box questions, you’re not ready to interview.   End the interview well. Make sure you end an interview on a positive note and let the candidate know what happens next in the process.   Finally, if you’re a first-time hiring manager, here is some job interview advice just for you.