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Economy in Brief
U.S. Consumer Credit Continues to Decline
Cautious spending breeds less credit usage...
German Orders Plunge in April
Germany's orders plunged in April, falling by 25.8% m/m...
U.S. Trade Deficit Deepens; Exports & Imports Fall by Record Amounts in April
The U.S. trade deficit in goods and services widened to $49.41 billion during April...
U.S. Productivity and Unit Labor Costs Revised Up for Q1'20
Output per hour revised up on weaker hours worked...
State & Pandemic Assistance Continuing Claims Total 32.5 Million
Initial jobless claims decreased to a still extremely-elevated 1.877 million in the week ending May 30...
Special Topics
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% |
