Jan. 17 (UPI) -- Job openings in the United States in November fell to the lowest level in almost two years, aided by a surge of hiring and little turnover, the Labor Department said Friday.
The Job Openings and Labor Market Turnover Survey reported 6.8 million openings at the end of November -- the fewest since February 2018 and a decline of 561,000.
"Over the month, hires and separations [changed little] at 5.8 million and 5.6 million, respectively," the report said. "Within separations, the quits rate was unchanged at 2.3 percent and the layoffs and discharges rate was [changed little] at 1.1 percent."
The retail sector saw the greatest cuts in vacancies, dropping by 139,000, while the construction industry declined by 112,000.
"Common sense should tell you that indeed, after an 11-year run of economic growth that many companies have hired all the help they need for now," Chris Rupkey, chief financial economist at MUFG Union Bank, said in a note to clients. "Today's sharp reduction in jobs available maybe telling us that the economy has finally reached full employment."
There were 7.63 million openings in November 2018, a year-to-year drop of 800,000. Nearly 6 million hires were made that month and 5.6 million separations.