Global| Jul 13 2011U.S. JOLTS Rate Is Stable But Layoffs Rise
by:Tom Moeller
|in:Economy in Brief
Summary
The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported yesterday in its Job Openings & Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) that the May job openings rate held steady m/m at 2.2%. The latest reading remained improved versus the recession low of 1.6% but [...]
The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported yesterday in its Job
Openings & Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) that the May job
openings rate held steady m/m at 2.2%. The latest reading
remained improved versus the recession low of 1.6% but has moved
sideways for a year. 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 private-sector job openings rate also was steady m/m at 2.4% but has been moving higher since the recovery began. Professional & business services job openings rebounded sharply m/m to 3.3% which was near last year's average. Openings in education & health services also moved higher but they fell sharply in leisure & hospitality. In manufacturing, openings were stable m/m but remained more-than-double the mid-2009 level. The job openings rate in government remained depressed.
The hires rate held at 3.1% for the fourth consecutive month. The hires rate is the number of hires during the month divided by employment. The hires rate in the private sector rose to 3.5% versus 3.4% during Q1. The government's depressed 1.2% rate was where it's been since November and the number of hires was down by nearly two-thirds y/y. Overall, hires in the private sector rose 5.1% y/y). Hires in professional & business services were strongest with 14.0% y/y rise while education & health rose 3.4% y/y.
The job separations rate jumped to 3.1%, its highest since last August. The actual number of separations also jumped 5.9% m/m (3.3% y/y). Separations include quits, layoffs, discharges, and other separations as well as retirements. The layoff & discharge rate alone jumped m/m from its all-time low to 1.4%. The private sector layoff rate increased to 1.5% but in the public sector 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) | May | Apr | Mar | May'10 | 2010 | 2009 | 2008 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Job Openings, Total | |||||||
| Rate (%) | 2.2 | 2.2 | 2.3 | 2.1 | 2.2 | 1.8 | 2.1 |
| Total (000s) | 2,974 | 2,953 | 3,123 | 2,790 | 2,921 | 2,369 | 2,937 |
| Hires, Total | |||||||
| Rate (%) | 3.1 | 3.1 | 3.1 | 3.3 | 36.3 | 34.7 | 39.3 |
| Total (000s) | 3,797 | 3,733 | 3,807 | 3,613 | 43,214 | 41,973 | 50,2112 |
| Layoffs & Discharges, Total | |||||||
| Rate (%) | 1.4 | 1.2 | 1.2 | 1.4 | 16.4 | 20.0 | 17.6 |
| Total (000s) | 1,775 | 1,603 | 1,606 | 1,816 | 21,225 | 26,328 | 23,706 |
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.
