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Job openings in December ticked down slightly from the prior month, while the measure of unemployed persons per job opening held their ground at historic lows.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics fell to 5.81 million job openings in December, undershooting forecasts of 5.9 million from a survey of Reuters economists. The Bureau's Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) reached 5.98 million openings in November.
The ratio of unemployed persons per job opening, which peaked at 6.6 during the height of the financial crisis, maintained its current level of 1.1 unemployed persons per opening.
The number of job separations also crept up to 5.24 million in December from 5.21 million in the prior month.