Global| Mar 17 2016U.S. JOLTS: Job Openings Rate Increases Again
by:Tom Moeller
|in:Economy in Brief
Summary
The job openings rate improved to 3.7% during January from 3.6% in December. Revisions sharply lowered figures back to 2013, but benchmark revisions extend back to 2000. The private sector job openings rate of 4.0% compared to 2.1% in [...]
The job openings rate improved to 3.7% during January from 3.6% in December. Revisions sharply lowered figures back to 2013, but benchmark revisions extend back to 2000. The private sector job openings rate of 4.0% compared to 2.1% 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. Hiring was less strong. The hires rate in January totaled 3.5%, down from the December high of 3.8%. The private sector rate declined sharply m/m to 3.9%, and compared to 1.5% 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 rose 4.9% in January to 5.541 million, up 11.4% y/y. A 13.9% y/y rise in private sector openings was led by a 35.0% surge in construction. That was followed by a 26.6% y/y increase in health care & social assistance. Retail trade openings gained 24.9% y/y and openings in professional & business services increased 22.4% y/y. Factory sector openings improved 9.8% y/y, but leisure & hospitality openings fell 1.6% y/y. In the government sector, job openings declined 9.7% y/y.
The number of hires decreased 6.9% m/m to 5.029 million in January, and they were down 0.5% y/y. Private sector hiring eased 0.3% y/y, reflecting a 6.8% increase in professional & business services and an 8.6% y/y rise in manufacturing. Leisure & hospitality hiring gained 5.7%, but construction sector jobs declined 20.1% y/y. Health care & social assistance jobs fell 2.5% y/y. Government sector hiring declined 2.4% y/y.
The total job separations rate plunged to 3.4% as it reversed December's run-up to 3.6%. The actual number of separations increased 0.4% y/y. Factory sector separations increased 3.6% y/y while education & health care separations gained 2.2% y/y. Professional & business services separations increased 4.5% y/y and leisure & hospitality separations rose 2.6% y/y. Retail trade separations declined 5.1% y/y. Separations include quits, layoffs, discharges, and other separations as well as retirements.
The layoff & discharge rate held near the record low at 1.2%. The private sector rate of 1.3% also was near the all-time low and compared to 0.5% in the public sector. Layoffs overall declined 5.2% y/y in the private sector, and 7.3% 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) | Jan | Dec | Nov | Jan '14 | 2015 | 2014 | 2013 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Job Openings, Total | |||||||
| Rate (%) | 3.7 | 3.6 | 3.5 | 3.4 | 3.6 | 3.3 | 2.7 |
| Total (000s) | 5,541 | 5,281 | 5,198 | 11.4% | 9.7 | 28.7% | 4.6% |
| Hires, Total | |||||||
| Rate (%) | 3.5 | 3.8 | 3.7 | 3.6 | 43.6 | 42.2 | 39.6 |
| Total (000s) | 5,029 | 5,401 | 5,253 | -0.5% | 5.2% | 8.2% | 3.5% |
| Layoffs & Discharges, Total | |||||||
| Rate (%) | 1.2 | 1.2 | 1.2 | 1.2 | 14.9 | 14.7 | 14.7 |
| Total (000s) | 1,663 | 1,672 | 1,718 | -5.3% | 2.7% | 2.4% | -5.3% |
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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