JOLTS: Job Openings Continue to Fall in March
by:Tom Moeller
|in:Economy in Brief
Summary
- Openings level is lowest in nearly two years.
- Declines are widespread.
- Hiring declines are mixed amongst industries.
- Layoffs & discharges surge.
The number of job openings dropped 3.9% during March to 9.590 million from 9.974 million in February, revised from 9.931 million. Falling for three consecutive months, the latest level was the lowest level since April 2021, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics Job Openings & Labor Turnover report. These declines left openings 20.3% below the March 2022 high of 12.027 million. The job openings rate (job openings as a percentage of the sum of establishment employment plus openings) fell to 5.8% from 6.0% in February. The series high was 7.4% in March 2022.
Within sectors, the job openings rate in construction fell to 4.1% in March from 4.9% during February. The rate eased to 5.1% from 5.2% in manufacturing and to 4.8% from 5.5% in trade, transportation & utilities. The rate in professional services weakened to 7.0% from 7.5%. In the education & health sector, the job openings rate fell to 6.8% from 7.0%, but in the leisure & hospitality sector the job openings rate rose to 8.3%.
New hires were little changed m/m (-6.5% y/y) at 6.149 million in March. That followed a 2.8% decline in February and a 1.2% January increase. It left the level of new hires 10.1% below the November 2021 high of 6.843 million.
The hiring rate held steady at 4.0% during March. It reached a peak of 4.6% in November 2021. The hiring rate in leisure & hospitality fell to 6.7% from 7.2% but in the professional & business sector, it rose to 5.2% from 4.9%. In retail trade, the hiring rate eased to 4.5% from 4.7% while in construction, it improved to 5.1% from 4.7%. The hiring rate in education & health services edged higher to 3.5% from 3.4%. In the factory sector, the hiring rate weakened to 3.0% from 3.2% in February.
The total number of job separations rose 1.6% (-4.2% y/y) during March to 5.932 million from 5.841 million in February. The jobs separations rate held a 3.8%. Layoffs and discharges, involuntary separations, rose 15.9% (29.4% y/y) to 1.805 from 1.557 million. The layoff & discharge rate rose to 1.2% from 1.0%.
The number of jobs quit declined 3.2% (-13.5% y/y) to 3.851 million. Quits in the financial sector rose 15.9% (-23.9% y/y) while in retail trade quits eased 0.2% (-12.6% y/y). Factory sector quits fell 1.1% (19.2% y/y) but in the leisure & hospitality sector they fell 20.2% (-18.4% y/y). The quit rate eased to 2.5% and remained below the April 2022 high of 3.0%.
The Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) 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.
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