Global| Oct 10 2012U.S. JOLTS: Job Openings Rate Remains High
by:Tom Moeller
|in:Economy in Brief
Summary
The Bureau of Labor Statistics indicated in its Job Openings & Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) that the job openings rate held at 2.6% in August and was improved versus the recession low of 1.6%. The job openings rate is the number of [...]
The Bureau of Labor Statistics indicated in its Job Openings &
Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) that the job openings rate held at 2.6%
in August 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 fell 0.9% to 3,561 (+13.0% y/y).
The private-sector job openings rate held m/m at 2.6%. It has moved steadily higher versus the recession low of 1.7%. The job openings rate in professional & business services recovered m/m to 3.8%. In construction the rate also rose to 1.5% but leisure & hospitality fell back sharply to 2.9%, a six month low. The rate in education & health services fell to 3.1%, also a six month low. In manufacturing the rate fell to 2.1%, off sharply from the March high of 2.5%. The job openings rate in government held at an improved 1.7%.
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 recovered m/m to 3.7% and the government's rate ticked up to a still-low 1.4%. The factory sector hires rate fell sharply to 1.9%, the low for the economic recovery. Overall hires in the private sector jumped 2.5% (3.9% y/y). Professional & business services hires gained 7.2% (4.9% y/y) and leisure & hospitality hires rose 1.5% (2.8% y/y). These increases were offset by a 4.5% decline (-9.3% y/y) in factory sector hiring.
The job separations rate rose to 3.3%. The actual number of separations jumped 6.5% (5.9% y/y. Separations include quits, layoffs, discharges, and other separations as well as retirements. The layoff & discharge rate alone recovered to 1.4% and reversed most of the prior two months' declines. The private sector layoff rate was 1.6% 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.
| JOLTS (Job Openings & Labor Turnover Survey) | Aug | Jul | Jun | Aug'11 | 2011 | 2010 | 2009 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Job Openings, Total | |||||||
| Rate (%) | 2.6 | 2.6 | 2.7 | 2.3 | 2.6 | 2.2 | 1.8 |
| Total (000s) | 3,561 | 3,593 | 3,722 | 3,152 | 3,540 | 2,902 | 2,432 |
| Hires, Total | |||||||
| Rate (%) | 3.3 | 3.2 | 3.2 | 3.2 | 38.0 | 37.4 | 35.5 |
| Total(000s) | 4,390 | 4,278 | 4,284 | 4,221 | 50,006 | 48,647 | 46,386 |
| Layoffs & Discharges, Total | |||||||
| Rate (%) | 1.4 | 1.2 | 1.3 | 1.3 | 15.6 | 16.7 | 20.5 |
| Total (000s) | 1,848 | 1,582 | 1,761 | 1,755 | 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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