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Economy in Brief
U.S. PPI Posts Broad-Based Strength in March
The Producer Price Index for final demand jumped 1.0% (4.2% y/y) during March...
U.S. Wholesale Inventories Post Strong February Gain; Sales Fall
Wholesale inventories increased 0.6% (2.0% y/y) during February...
U.S. Initial Unemployment Insurance Claims Unexpectedly Increase
Initial claims for unemployment insurance rose to 744,000 during the week ended April 3...
Total PMIs Gain Traction in March
The PMI readings for March show improvement again...
U.S. Consumer Credit Outstanding Bounces Back in February
Consumer credit outstanding surged $27.6 billion during February...
Viewpoints
Commentaries are the opinions of the author and do not reflect the views of Haver Analytics.
Monetary Policy Blunder: Not Managing Economic & Financial Outcomes Equally
Monetary Policy at a Crossroad: Policymakers Need to Break Promise of Easy Money to Avoid Boom-Bust
State Coincident Indexes in January
Data Surprises, Markets and COVID
by Tom Moeller July 10, 2018
The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the total job openings rate during May fell to 4.3% from 4.4% in April, revised from 4.3%. It remained higher than the 3.7% rate twelve months earlier. (The job openings rate is the job openings level as a percent of total employment plus the job openings level.) The hiring rate surged to 3.9% from 3.8% and was the highest level since March 2007.
The private-sector job openings rate eased to 4.6% from the expansion high of 4.7%. The rate declined in professional & business services (5.4%), leisure & hospitality (5.3%) and education & health services (4.9%). The job openings rate in trade, transportation and utilities held steady at 4.5%, and the manufacturing job openings rate was unchanged at 3.4%. In construction, the rate was stable at 3.3%.
The level of job openings declined 3.0% (+16.7% y/y) and reversed the April rise. Private-sector openings fell 3.6% (16.6% y/y) to 6.035 million. Job openings increased 28.9% y/y in trade, transportation & utilities. Professional & business services job openings gained 20.6% y/y while leisure & hospitality openings rose 9.5% y/y. Openings in education & health services increased 12.4% y/y and factory sector openings increased by one-quarter y/y. Job openings in construction gained by one-third y/y.
The private-sector hiring rate rose to 4.3%, the highest level since March 2007. The rate in leisure & hospitality (6.6%), professional and business services (5.7%) and trade, transportation & utilities (4.0%) remained firm. In construction, the rate rose to 5.3% and in education & health services, it improved to 3.1%, the highest level since May 2006. In the factory sector, the rate declined to 2.7%.
Total hiring increased 4.9% y/y. Hiring in the private sector rose 5.2% y/y as professional & business services jobs gained 5.3% y/y. Factory sector hiring rose 4.2% y/y, and construction sector employment rose 3.8% y/y. Leisure & hospitality hiring improved 8.5% y/y, while education & health services employment improved 8.7% y/y.
The overall job separations rate was stable m/m at 3.7% and equaled the highest level since January 2009. It rose to 4.1% in the private sector. The level of overall separations rose 3.8% y/y.
The level of layoffs declined 6.0% y/y, leaving the 1.1% layoff rate down from a 2015 high of 1.4%. In the private sector, the layoff rate fell to 1.2%.
The Job Openings & Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) survey dates to December 2000 and the figures are available in Haver's USECON database.
JOLTS (Job Openings & Labor Turnover Survey, SA) | May | Apr | Mar | May'17 | May'16 | May'15 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Job Openings, Total | ||||||
Rate (%) | 4.3 | 4.4 | 4.3 | 3.7 | 3.8 | 3.7 |
Total (000s) | 6,638 | 6,840 | 6,633 | 5,688 | 5,696 | 5,426 |
Hires, Total | ||||||
Rate (%) | 3.9 | 3.8 | 3.7 | 3.7 | 3.6 | 3.6 |
Total (000s) | 5,754 | 5,581 | 5,486 | 5,486 | 5,215 | 5,123 |
Layoffs & Discharges, Total | ||||||
Rate (%) | 1.1 | 1.2 | 1.0 | 1.2 | 1.2 | 1.2 |
Total (000s) | 1,588 | 1,731 | 1,547 | 1,689 | 1,753 | 1,656 |