Global| Apr 09 2013U.S. JOLTS: Job Openings Rate Improves To Recovery High
by:Tom Moeller
|in:Economy in Brief
Summary
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics in the February Job Openings & Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) report, the job openings rate rose to 2.8% from a revised 2.7% in January. The latest was the highest since June of last year and [...]
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics in the February Job
Openings & Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) report, the job openings
rate rose to 2.8% from a revised 2.7% in January. The latest was the
highest since June of last year and equaled the recovery high. 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 8.7% (11.3% y/y) and also reached a new
high for the economic recovery.
The private-sector job openings rate jumped to 3.0%. That equaled the cycle's high and was double the recession low of 1.7%. The job openings rate in professional & business services rose sharply to 3.8% while in health care and social services it jumped to 3.5%. That equaled the new high in leisure & hospitality. The rate in manufacturing held steady at 2.1% while in construction it was 2.0%. The job openings rate in government has been steadily improving and in February it jumped to 2.0%, up from the 2011 low of 1.3%
The hires rate recovered to 3.3%, but that just continued its erratic sideways move since 2011. 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 3.6% while the government's rate ticked up to 1.4%. In leisure & hospitality, the hiring rate continued quite firm at 5.5% but the factory sector hires rate ticked up to just 1.9%. In education & health services, the rate slipped to 2.4%. Overall hires in the private sector fell 1.6% y/y as professional & business services hires fell 13.2% y/y. Hires in factory sector were off 11.6% y/y while gov't sector hires fell 2.9% y/y. These declines were offset by a 13.4% gain in the trade, transportation & utilities businesses.
The job separations rate held at 3.1%. Moreover, the actual number of separations was unchanged y/y. Separations include quits, layoffs, discharges, and other separations as well as retirements. The layoff & discharge rate ticked up m/m to 1.2% but remained near the series' low. The private sector layoff rate was stable at a low 1.1% but in government it ticked up 0.5%.
The JOLTS survey dates only to December 2000 and the figures are available in Haver's USECON database.
| JOLTS (Job Openings & Labor Turnover Survey) | Feb | Jan | Dec | Feb'12 | 2012 | 2011 | 2010 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Job Openings, Total | |||||||
| Rate (%) | 2.8 | 2.6 | 2.6 | 2.6 | 2.6 | 2.6 | 2.2 |
| Total (000s) | 3,925 | 3,611 | 3,612 | 3,526 | 3,617 | 3,540 | 2,902 |
| Hires, Total | |||||||
| Rate (%) | 3.3 | 3.2 | 3.1 | 3.4 | 38.8 | 38.0 | 37.4 |
| Total(000s) | 4,418 | 4,298 | 4,195 | 4,489 | 51,811 | 50,006 | 48,647 |
| Layoffs & Discharges, Total | |||||||
| Rate (%) | 1.2 | 1.1 | 1.2 | 1.3 | 15.6 | 15.6 | 16.7 |
| Total (000s) | 1,615 | 1,520 | 1,569 | 1,762 | 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.
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