Hiring jumps to highest rate since early 2024 in surprise sign of economic health

Hiring in March increased to the highest rate since February 2024, a surprise sign that the labor market may have dynamism, despite the “low-hire, low-fire” pattern that has characterized the past few years.

The number of hires in March increased 655,000 to 5.6 million and the rate of hiring ticked up to 3.5%, according to an update to the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey. The survey reports gross hiring and firing, rather than the more widely cited net figures in the monthly jobs reports.

Hires increased in transportation, warehousing, and utilities, professional and business services, and accommodation and food services. Federal government jobs decreased slightly in March.

The report marks a reversal from the February JOLTS report, which raised alarm bells because the hires rate fell to 3.1%, the lowest rate since the entire economy was shut down at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic