Global| Jan 12 2016U.S. JOLTS: Job Openings Rate Improves
by:Tom Moeller
|in:Economy in Brief
Summary
The job openings rate increased to 3.7% during November from 3.6% in October. The latest figure compared to 3.4% one year earlier, but was down from the expansion high of 3.8% reached during July. The private sector job openings rate [...]
The job openings rate increased to 3.7% during November from 3.6% in October. The latest figure compared to 3.4% one year earlier, but was down from the expansion high of 3.8% reached during July. The private sector job openings rate of 3.9% compared to 2.2% in the public sector. 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. Employers are having moderate difficulty finding workers. The hires rate held at 3.6% for the fifth straight month, down from the 3.7% high reached in June. The private sector rate of 4.0% compared to 1.6% in the public sector. The hires rate is the number of hires during the month divided by employment. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports these figures in its Job Openings & Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS).
The actual number of job openings fell 1.5% m/m to 5.431 million. They remained 11.2% higher versus last year. An 11.3% y/y rise in private sector openings was led by a 34.2% y/y surge in health care & social assistance. That was followed by 24.0% y/y growth in leisure & hospitality and a 9.8% improvement in professional & business services. Retail trade openings grew 7.0% y/y while openings rose 3.8% in construction. Factory sector openings declined 11.4% y/y. In the government sector, job openings increased 9.5% y/y.
The number of hires increased 0.6% m/m to 5.197 million (3.4% y/y). Private sector hiring grew 2.9% y/y, reflecting an 11.6% increase in leisure & hospitality hiring and a 10.1% y/y gain in the number of construction sector jobs. Health care & social assistance jobs grew 6.4% and professional & business services jobs improved 3.2% y/y. The factory sector added 1.9% more workers but retail trade jobs declined 2.6% y/y. Government sector hiring grew 10.6% y/y.
The total job separations rate rose to 3.5% after four months at 3.4%. That was down from a 3.6% March high. The actual number of separations increased 6.5% y/y. Factory sector separations jumped 22.3% y/y while education & health care separations gained 14.2% y/y. Professional & business services separations increased 10.3% y/y and leisure & hospitality separations rose 8.8% y/y. Retail trade separations rose 0.3% y/y. Separations include quits, layoffs, discharges, and other separations as well as retirements.
The layoff & discharge rate remained at 1.2% m/m but was up from 1.1% last November. The private sector rate of 1.3% compared to 0.5% in the public sector. Layoffs overall rebounded 5.4% y/y in the private sector but jumped 14.9% y/y in the public sector.
The JOLTS survey dates to December 2000 and the figures are available in Haver's USECON database.
| JOLTS (Job Openings & Labor Turnover Survey, SA) | Nov | Oct | Sep | Nov '14 | 2014 | 2013 | 2012 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Job Openings, Total | |||||||
| Rate (%) | 3.7 | 3.6 | 3.7 | 3.4 | 3.4 | 2.8 | 2.6 |
| Total (000s) | 5,431 | 5,349 | 5,534 | 11.2% | 22.6% | 9.3% | 3.2% |
| Hires, Total | |||||||
| Rate (%) | 3.6 | 3.6 | 3.6 | 3.6 | 42.2 | 39.8 | 38.8 |
| Total (000s) | 5,197 | 5,168 | 5,080 | 3.4% | 8.4% | 3.4% | 4.2% |
| Layoffs & Discharges, Total | |||||||
| Rate (%) | 1.2 | 1.2 | 1.3 | 1.1 | 14.5 | 14.6 | 15.5 |
| Total (000s) | 1,690 | 1,703 | 1,786 | 6.0% | 2.4% | -4.9% | 1.1% |
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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