U.S. JOLTS – Job Openings Decline While Hiring Improves in July
by:Tom Moeller
|in:Economy in Brief
Summary
- Job openings fall for second straight month.
- Hiring improves after two consecutive months of sharp decline.
- Separations fall, quits ease but layoffs rise slightly.
Job openings declined 176,000 (-4.3% y/y) to 7.181 million in July after falling 355,000 in June to 7.357 million, revised from -275,000, according to the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey. The change in job openings in May was unrevised at +317,000. The job openings rate fell to 4.3% in July from 4.4% in June. This was the lowest rate in four months and matched the lowest rate since September, down from a 4.8% November high. The record high was 7.4% reached in March 2022. This rate is calculated as the ratio of job openings to total nonfarm employment plus openings.
Private sector openings declined 138,000 (-2.8% y/y) in July to 6.398 million after falling 340,000 from 6.536 million in June. The private openings rate fell to 4.5% in July from 4.6% in June. The number of job openings declined month-to-month in mining & logging (-48.0% y/y), trade, transportation & utilities (+12.2% y/y), professional & business services (-4.2% y/y), private education & health services (-18.0% y/y), leisure & hospitality (+4.2% y/y) and arts, entertainment & recreation (-19.4% y/y). The number of job openings increased m/m in construction (33 .6% y/y), information (75.7% y/y) and financial activities (-4.8% y/y).
Total hiring rose 41,000 (-2.6% y/y) to 5.308 million in July after falling 198,000 to 5.267 million in June. The hiring rate held steady m/m at 3.3%, the second lowest since the pandemic. Private sector hiring rose 57,000 (-1.6% y/y) in July after falling 174,000 in June. Weakness in hiring during the last year has centered in manufacturing (-9.8% y/y), trade, transportation & utilities (-7.5% y/y), financial services (-7.4% y/y) and education & health (-10.8% y/y).
Total separations declined 52,000 (-2.7% y/y) to 5.289 million in July. The separation rate held at 3.3%, where it’s been since last August. Private separations fell 39,000 (-2.5% y/y) while government separations dropped 13,000 (-5.5% y/y). Total quits fell 1,000 (-5.4% y/y) to 3.208 million in July, the third monthly decline in the past four months, with the quits rate unchanged at 2.0%. Private sector quits rose 5,000 (5.5% y/y) in July. Quits are generally voluntary separations initiated by the employee. Therefore, the quits rate can serve as a measure of workers’ willingness or ability to leave jobs. In contrast, layoffs and discharges are involuntary separations initiated by the employer. Layoffs and discharges rose 12,000 (3.6% y/y) to 1.808 million in July with private layoffs increasing 14,000 (4.4% y/y) while government layoffs declined 1,000 (-10.3% y/y).
The Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) data are available in Haver’s USECON database.
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.
More Economy in Brief
