Hiring Surge Ends Yearlong Labor Market Slump

The number of hires increased to 5.6 million in March, a figure that was 655,000 higher than the previous month, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) said in a Job Openings and Labor Turnover Summary (JOLTS) report released Tuesday (May 5). The BLS highlighted 165,000 new hires in professional and business services, 124,000 in accommodation and food services, and 108,000 in transportation, warehousing and utilities. There were 7,000 fewer hires in federal government than there were a month earli