
U.S. JOLTS: Job Openings Rate Continues Sideways Move
by:Tom Moeller
|in:Economy in Brief
Summary
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics in the January Job Openings & Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) report, the job openings rate ticked up to 2.7% from an unrevised 2.6% in December. However, the figure remained slightly below [...]
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics in the January Job Openings & Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) report, the job openings rate ticked up to 2.7% from an unrevised 2.6% in December. However, the figure remained slightly below its highs of early last year. 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 rose 2.2% (8.1% y/y) and recovered half of its December decline.
The private-sector job openings rate was unchanged at 2.8% but still up versus the recession low of 1.7%. The job openings rate in health care and social services dropped sharply to 3.0%, off from last year's high of 3.7%. In leisure & hospitality, the rate also fell 3.0% while the rate in manufacturing moved sideways at 2.0%. The job openings rate in government improved to m/m to 1.8% and was up from the 2011 low of 1.3%
The hires rate held at a lower 3.1%. The hires rate is the number of hires during the month divided by employment. The hires rate in the private sector also was constant at a lower 3.5% while the government's rate held at 1.3%. In leisure & hospitality, the hiring rate continued quite firm at 5.3% but the factory sector hires rate dipped to 1.8%. In education & health services, the rate also held at 2.5%. Overall hires in the private sector rose 1.3% y/y as hires in professional & business services rose 6.1% y/y. Hires in education & health services rose 3.4% y/y but factory sector hires fell 14.9% y/y.
The job separations rate held at 3.0%, the lowest level since early-2011. However, the actual number of separations rose 5.0% y/y. Separations include quits, layoffs, discharges, and other separations as well as retirements. The layoff & discharge rate fell m/m and equaled the series' low of 1.1%. The private sector layoff rate was a lower 1.3% while in government it was just 0.4%.
The JOLTS survey dates only to December 2000 and the figures are available in Haver's USECON database.
JOLTS (Job Openings & Labor Turnover Survey) | Jan | Dec | Nov | Jan'12 | 2012 | 2011 | 2010 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Job Openings, Total | |||||||
Rate (%) | 2.7 | 2.6 | 2.7 | 2.5 | 2.6 | 2.6 | 2.2 |
Total (000s) | 3,693 | 3,612 | 3,789 | 3,415 | 3,617 | 3,540 | 2,902 |
Hires, Total | |||||||
Rate (%) | 3.1 | 3.1 | 3.3 | 3.2 | 38.8 | 38.0 | 37.4 |
Total(000s) | 4,247 | 4,195 | 4,402 | 4,192 | 51,811 | 50,006 | 48,647 |
Layoffs & Discharges, Total | |||||||
Rate (%) | 1.1 | 1.2 | 1.3 | 1.2 | 15.6 | 15.6 | 16.7 |
Total (000s) | 1,507 | 1,569 | 1,705 | 1,640 | 20,621 | 20,678 | 21,737 |
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.