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Economy in Brief
UK Consumer Sentiment Hits Lowest Reading since 1996
(when the GFK survey began; also lowest reading 'ever')
Of these 13 readings eight of them declined on the month in May three of them improved and two of them were unchanged...
U.S. Existing Home Sales Continue to Fall in April as Houses Become Less Affordable
The combination of soaring home prices across the nation and rising interest rates is making homes less affordable...
U.S. Index of Leading Indicators Fell in April
Five of the index's components fell in April, one was unchanged and four increased...
U.S. Unemployment Claims Rose in the Latest Week
The state insured rates of unemployment in regular programs vary widely...
CBI Gauge in the UK Continues to Be Upbeat
The global economy has a lot of challenges...
Viewpoints
Commentaries are the opinions of the author and do not reflect the views of Haver Analytics.
Profits and Margins Plunge In Q1: Expect More Margin Contraction As Fed Squeezes Inflation
The Many Links of Inflation Cycle: Hard Landing Is Needed to Crack Them
Peak Inflation and Fed Policy: A Relationship which Should Worry the Fed and Scare Investors
Why Have the Yields on TIPS Been Negative in the Past Two Years?
by Tom Moeller January 10, 2012
The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported in its Job Openings & Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) that the November job openings rate slipped to 2.3% from an unrevised 2.4%. Nevertheless, the latest reading remained improved versus the recession low of 1.6%. 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 actual number of job openings fell 2.0% m/m (+6.6% y/y) but were still was near the highest level since June 2008. The number of private sector openings fell 1.6% (+6.8% y/y) while public sector openings fell 5.0% (+4.6% y/y).
The private-sector job openings rate held steady m/m at 2.5% and has moved steadily higher versus the recession low of 1.7%. The professional & business services job openings rate again fell sharply m/m to 2.9%, its lowest since April. The openings rate in trade, transportation & public utilities held for the third month at its high of 2.2% but education & health services remained a bit lower at 2.9%. In leisure & hospitality businesses the openings rate rose to its highest level (3.0%) since June, 2008 but in manufacturing it held at 1.9%, still double the mid-2009 low. The job openings rate in government fell to 1.5% and reversed its prior two month's improvement.
The hires rate also ticked back up to 3.2% and was up modestly versus the recession low of 2.8%. The hires rate is the number of hires during the month divided by employment. The hires rate in the private sector held m/m at 3.5%, up versus the recession low of 3.1%. The government's depressed 1.3% rate was up m/m but, except for hiring with the 2010 Census, has remained depressed since 2008. Overall, hires in the private sector rose 5.4% y/y. Hires in professional & business services remained strong, up 10.5% y/y while in leisure & hospitality businesses hires rose by one-quarter y/y. In manufacturing they fell 12.9% y/y and were down 4.5% in education & heath services. Government sector hires rose 3.3% y/y.
The job separations rate held steady at 3.0% but the actual number of separations rose 3.3% y/y. Separations include quits, layoffs, discharges, and other separations as well as retirements. The layoff & discharge rate alone ticked up m/m to 1.3% but remained near its all-time low of 1.2%. The private sector layoff rate was 1.4% but in the public sector it was 0.5%.
The JOLTS survey dates only to December 2000 and the figures are available in Haver's USECON database.
JOLTS (Job Openings & Labor Turnover Survey) | Nov | Oct | Sep | Nov'10 | 2010 | 2009 | 2008 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Job Openings, Total | |||||||
Rate (%) | 2.3 | 2.4 | 2.5 | 2.2 | 2.2 | 1.8 | 2.1 |
Total (000s) | 3,161 | 3,224 | 3,377 | 2,966 | 2,921 | 2,376 | 2,938 |
Hires, Total | |||||||
Rate (%) | 3.2 | 3.1 | 3.2 | 3.0 | 36.3 | 34.7 | 39.3 |
Total(000s) | 4,149 | 4,042 | 4,150 | 3,943 | 47,190 | 45,364 | 53,903 |
Layoffs & Discharges, Total | |||||||
Rate (%) | 1.3 | 1.2 | 1.3 | 1.3 | 16.4 | 20.0 | 17.6 |
Total (000s) | 1,691 | 1,595 | 1,723 | 1,739 | 21,225 | 26,328 | 23,706 |