Global| Jul 10 2018U.S. JOLTS: Job Openings Rate Slips; Hires Rate Increases
by:Tom Moeller
|in:Economy in Brief
Summary
The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the total job openings rate during May fell to 4.3% from 4.4% in April, revised from 4.3%. It remained higher than the 3.7% rate twelve months earlier. (The job openings rate is the job [...]
The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the total job openings rate during May fell to 4.3% from 4.4% in April, revised from 4.3%. It remained higher than the 3.7% rate twelve months earlier. (The job openings rate is the job openings level as a percent of total employment plus the job openings level.) The hiring rate surged to 3.9% from 3.8% and was the highest level since March 2007.
The private-sector job openings rate eased to 4.6% from the expansion high of 4.7%. The rate declined in professional & business services (5.4%), leisure & hospitality (5.3%) and education & health services (4.9%). The job openings rate in trade, transportation and utilities held steady at 4.5%, and the manufacturing job openings rate was unchanged at 3.4%. In construction, the rate was stable at 3.3%.
The level of job openings declined 3.0% (+16.7% y/y) and reversed the April rise. Private-sector openings fell 3.6% (16.6% y/y) to 6.035 million. Job openings increased 28.9% y/y in trade, transportation & utilities. Professional & business services job openings gained 20.6% y/y while leisure & hospitality openings rose 9.5% y/y. Openings in education & health services increased 12.4% y/y and factory sector openings increased by one-quarter y/y. Job openings in construction gained by one-third y/y.
The private-sector hiring rate rose to 4.3%, the highest level since March 2007. The rate in leisure & hospitality (6.6%), professional and business services (5.7%) and trade, transportation & utilities (4.0%) remained firm. In construction, the rate rose to 5.3% and in education & health services, it improved to 3.1%, the highest level since May 2006. In the factory sector, the rate declined to 2.7%.
Total hiring increased 4.9% y/y. Hiring in the private sector rose 5.2% y/y as professional & business services jobs gained 5.3% y/y. Factory sector hiring rose 4.2% y/y, and construction sector employment rose 3.8% y/y. Leisure & hospitality hiring improved 8.5% y/y, while education & health services employment improved 8.7% y/y.
The overall job separations rate was stable m/m at 3.7% and equaled the highest level since January 2009. It rose to 4.1% in the private sector. The level of overall separations rose 3.8% y/y.
The level of layoffs declined 6.0% y/y, leaving the 1.1% layoff rate down from a 2015 high of 1.4%. In the private sector, the layoff rate fell to 1.2%.
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) | May | Apr | Mar | May'17 | May'16 | May'15 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Job Openings, Total | ||||||
| Rate (%) | 4.3 | 4.4 | 4.3 | 3.7 | 3.8 | 3.7 |
| Total (000s) | 6,638 | 6,840 | 6,633 | 5,688 | 5,696 | 5,426 |
| Hires, Total | ||||||
| Rate (%) | 3.9 | 3.8 | 3.7 | 3.7 | 3.6 | 3.6 |
| Total (000s) | 5,754 | 5,581 | 5,486 | 5,486 | 5,215 | 5,123 |
| Layoffs & Discharges, Total | ||||||
| Rate (%) | 1.1 | 1.2 | 1.0 | 1.2 | 1.2 | 1.2 |
| Total (000s) | 1,588 | 1,731 | 1,547 | 1,689 | 1,753 | 1,656 |
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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