Global| Aug 07 2012U.S. JOLTS: Job Openings Rate Holds High But Hires Slip
by:Tom Moeller
|in:Economy in Brief
Summary
The Bureau of Labor Statistics indicated in its Job Openings & Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) that the rate of 2.7% held at its May level and was improved versus the recession low of 1.6%. The job openings rate is the number of job [...]
The Bureau of Labor Statistics indicated in its Job Openings & Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) that the rate of 2.7% held at its May level and was 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 rose 2.9% in June versus May (16.1% y/y).
The private-sector job openings rate rose m/m to 3.0% and has moved steadily higher versus the recession low of 1.7%. The job openings rate in professional & business services slipped m/m to 3.8% but leisure & hospitality rose to a recovery high of 3.3%. The rate in education & health services held m/m at a at an improved 3.3% while the rate in manufacturing the rate rose to its five year high of 2.4%. Earlier signs of improvement faded and the job openings rate in government fell back to 1.6%, near its lowest since October.
In a sign of better employment growth the hires rate was 3.3%, down slightly from May but up from 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 slipped m/m to 3.7% and the government's rate held at a paltry 1.3%. The factory sector hires rate was stable at 2.2%, about where it's been since 2009. Overall hires in the private sector slipped 2.3% (+3.4% y/y). Leisure & hospitality business hires slipped 0.4% y/y while hires in education & health services fell 3.0% y/y. Hires in professional & business services jumped 12.3% y/y and in manufacturing they rose 1.2% y/y.
The job separations rate fell to 3.2% and reversed most of May's jump to 3.4%. The actual number of separations fell (+4.0% y/y. Separations include quits, layoffs, discharges, and other separations as well as retirements. The layoff & discharge rate alone fell to 1.4% and reversed some of its May rise. The private sector layoff rate was 1.5% while in government it was 0.5%.
The JOLTS survey dates only to December 2000 and the figures are available in Haver's USECON database.
Economic Measurement is the title of Fed Chairman Ben S. Bernanke's recent speech. A video presentation can be found here.
| JOLTS (Job Openings & Labor Turnover Survey) | Jun | May | Apr | Jun'11 | 2011 | 2010 | 2009 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Job Openings, Total | |||||||
| Rate (%) | 2.7 | 2.7 | 2.5 | 2.4 | 2.6 | 2.2 | 1.8 |
| Total (000s) | 3,762 | 3,657 | 3,447 | 3,241 | 3,540 | 2,902 | 2,432 |
| Hires, Total | |||||||
| Rate (%) | 3.3 | 3.4 | 3.2 | 3.2 | 38.0 | 37.4 | 35.5 |
| Total(000s) | 4,361 | 4,461 | 4,213 | 4,208 | 50,006 | 48,647 | 46,386 |
| Layoffs & Discharges, Total | |||||||
| Rate (%) | 1.4 | 1.5 | 1.3 | 1.4 | 15.6 | 16.7 | 20.5 |
| Total (000s) | 1,807 | 1,956 | 1,743 | 1,850 | 20,678 | 21,737 | 26,731 |
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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