Global| May 08 2018U.S. JOLTS: Job Openings Rate Improves; Hires Stabilize
by:Tom Moeller
|in:Economy in Brief
Summary
The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the total job openings rate increased to 4.2% in March from an unrevised 3.9% in February. (The job openings rate is the job openings level as a percent of total employment plus the job [...]
The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the total job openings rate increased to 4.2% in March from an unrevised 3.9% in February. (The job openings rate is the job openings level as a percent of total employment plus the job openings level.) The hiring rate held steady at 3.7%, down slightly from its cycle peak of 3.8%.
The private sector job openings rate increased m/m to an expansion high of 4.5%. The rate rose to 5.1% in leisure & hospitality, professional & business services and education & health services. The job openings rate in trade, transportation and utilities improved to 4.1% and in construction rose to 3.4%. In the manufacturing sector, the job openings rate eased to 3.0%. The job openings rate in the government sector surged to 2.7%, its highest point since April 2016.
The level of job openings surged 7.8% (16.8% y/y) after falling in February. Private sector openings rebounded 8.0% (16.5% y/y) to 5.928 million. Openings in construction surged 38.5% y/y and increased 26.4% y/y in trade, transportation & utilities. Professional & business services job openings gained 20.6% y/y while leisure & hospitality openings rose 17.0% y/y. Openings in education & health services increased 13.8% y/y, but to the downside were factory sector openings where they eased 0.7% y/y. Openings in government surged 20.3% y/y.
The private sector hiring rate held steady at 4.1%, where it's been for four of the last five months. The rate in professional and business services (5.6%), manufacturing (2.9%) and trade, transportation & utilities (3.8%) remained firm. The hiring rate in leisure & hospitality fell to 6.3%, and in education & health services, it dropped to 2.8%. The government sector hiring rate held steady at 1.5%, about where it's been since late 2016.
Total hiring increased 2.4% y/y. Hiring in the private sector increased 2.7% y/y led by a 13.5% y/y gain in professional & business services jobs. Factory sector hiring rose 12.7% y/y but construction sector employment declined 11.7% y/y. Leisure & hospitality hiring improved 0.7% y/y while the number of education & health services workers eased 1.8% y/y. Hiring in the public sector declined 2.4% y/y.
The overall job separations rate rose m/m to 3.6%, about where it's been since 2015. It held at a low 3.9% in the private sector and was steady at 1.5% in government. The level of overall separations rose 2.3% y/y.
The level of layoffs declined 6.3% y/y and left the layoff rate at the record low of 1.1%. In the private sector, the layoff rate held at 1.2% and dipped to 0.4% in the public sector.
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) | Mar | Feb | Jan | Mar'17 | Mar '16 | Mar'15 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Job Openings, Total | ||||||
| Rate (%) | 4.2 | 3.9 | 4.0 | 3.7 | 4.0 | 3.5 |
| Total (000s) | 6,550 | 6,078 | 6,228 | 5,607 | 5,944 | 5,183 |
| Hires, Total | ||||||
| Rate (%) | 3.7 | 3.7 | 3.8 | 3.6 | 3.7 | 3.6 |
| Total (000s) | 5,425 | 5,507 | 5,574 | 5,297 | 5,297 | 5,078 |
| Layoffs & Discharges, Total | ||||||
| Rate (%) | 1.1 | 1.1 | 1.2 | 1.1 | 1.2 | 1.4 |
| Total (000s) | 1,564 | 1,620 | 1,784 | 1,669 | 1,745 | 1,906 |
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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