U.S. employers pick up pace of hiring in May

Job openings increased marginally

WASHINGTON (Reuters) — The pace of hiring by United States employers increased in May, the Labor Department said in a report that gave a positive sign for the American job market.

The hire rate, or the percentage of workers hired relative to total employment, ticked up one-tenth of a percentage point to 3.3 per cent during the month, according to the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS).

The report is based on a separate survey than the Labor Department's monthly survey of employer payrolls, which has shown strong gains in employment in May and June.

The report also showed that job openings, a measure of labour demand, increased marginally to a seasonally adjusted 3.828 million in May from a revised 3.8 million in April.

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