Global| Feb 12 2008JOLTS: Job Openings Down in 2007
by:Tom Moeller
|in:Economy in Brief
Summary
The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported in the Job Openings & Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) that the December '07 job openings rate was unchanged from the prior month at 2.8%. That level was, however, down from the highs of late 2006. [...]
The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported in the Job Openings & Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) that the December '07 job openings rate was unchanged from the prior month at 2.8%. That level was, however, down from the highs of late 2006. 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 total job openings rose 0.4% m/m to 4.039 million but the number of job openings was down 8.2% last year from year end 2006. Professional & business service sector openings fell 8.5%, retail trade fell 22.7% while openings in manufacturing fell 15.2% y/y.
The hires rate fell m/m to 3.3%, its lowest level since 2004. The hires rate is the number of hires during the month divided by employment.
The actual number of hires fell 0.5% (-6.5% y/y) to 4.636 million. Last year, hires in the construction industry rose 3.5% but factory sector hires were 9.3% lower.
The job separations rate in December fell to 3.1% versus 3.3% at yearend 2006. Separations include quits, layoffs, discharges, and other separations as well as retirements. The level of job separations fell 4.1% since yearend 2006.
The JOLTS survey dates only to December 2000 but has since followed the movement in nonfarm payrolls, though the actual correlation between the two series is low.
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) | December | November | December '06 | 2007 | 2006 | 2005 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Job Openings, Total | ||||||
| Rate (%) | 2.8 | 2.8 | 3.1 | 2.8 | 3.1 | 2.8 |
| Total (000s) | 4,039 | 4,024 | 4,401 | 4,039 | 4,401 | 3,880 |
| Hires, Total | ||||||
| Rate (%) | 3.3 | 3.4 | 3.6 | 41.7 | 43.6 | 43.1 |
| Total (000s) | 4,636 | 4,657 | 4,959 | 57,659 | 59,409 | 57,508 |
Tom Moeller
AuthorMore in Author Profile »Prior to joining Haver Analytics in 2000, Mr. Moeller worked as the Economist at Chancellor Capital Management from 1985 to 1999. There, he developed comprehensive economic forecasts and interpreted economic data for equity and fixed income portfolio managers. Also at Chancellor, Mr. Moeller worked as an equity analyst and was responsible for researching and rating companies in the economically sensitive automobile and housing industries for investment in Chancellor’s equity portfolio. Prior to joining Chancellor, Mr. Moeller was an Economist at Citibank from 1979 to 1984. He also analyzed pricing behavior in the metals industry for the Council on Wage and Price Stability in Washington, D.C. In 1999, Mr. Moeller received the award for most accurate forecast from the Forecasters' Club of New York. From 1990 to 1992 he was President of the New York Association for Business Economists. Mr. Moeller earned an M.B.A. in Finance from Fordham University, where he graduated in 1987. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from George Washington University.
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