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- Canada: Building Permits (Oct), Housing Starts (Nov)
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- G10: Economic Sentix Index, Switzerland: NCI Economic Activity Index (Dec)
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Economy in Brief
Wholesale Inventories Grow While Sales Decline
Wholesale inventories increased 0.8% month-on-month (6.9% year-over-year) during October...
U.S. Consumer Credit Usage Expands
Consumer credit outstanding increased $25.38 billion during October...
German IP Takes Surprising October Slip
Germany's industrial production slowed to a gain of only 0.1% in September then dropped by 0.5% in October...
U.S. Trade Deficit Widens to 10-Year High; Record Goods Shortfall
The U.S. trade deficit in goods and services widened for the fifth consecutive month to $55.49 billion in October...
U.S. ADP Private Sector Payroll Growth Eases
The ADP National Employment Report indicated that private nonfarm payrolls increased 179,000 during November...
by Tom Moeller May 11, 2005
The Job Openings & Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) from the Bureau of Labor Statistics indicated that the job openings rate held firm at 2.6% versus an upwardly revised level in February. The job openings rate is the number of job openings on the last business day of the month as a percent of total employment plus job openings. The total number of job openings was about stable m/m but up 14.9% y/y.
The March hires rate continued the trend of improvement and rose to 3.7%. The hires rate is the number of hires during the month divided by employment.
Job separations rose and reversed most of the decline during the prior two months. The separation rate rose to 3.3%. Total separations include quits, layoffs, discharges, and other separations as well as retirements. The total separations, or turnover, rate is the total number of separations during the month divided by employment.
The survey dates only to December 2000 but has since followed the movement in nonfarm payrolls.
A description of the Jolts survey and the latest release from the U.S. Department of Labor is available here.
| JOLTS (Job Openings & Labor Turnover Survey) | Mar | Feb | Mar '04 | 2004 | 2003 | 2002 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Job Openings Rate: Total | 2.6% | 2.6% | 2.3% | 2.4% | 2.1% | 2.2% |
| Hires Rate: Total | 3.7% | 3.6% | 3.7% | 3.4% | 3.2% | 3.2% |
