U.S. JOLTS Job Openings Rise in April after 3 Months of Declines
Summary
- Openings were mixed by industry with biggest rate increase transportation & trade.
- Hires up after 2 monthly declines.
- Layoffs down after spike in March.
The number of job openings rose 3.7% in April to 10.103 million (+14.1% y/y) from 9.745 million in March, revised up from 9.590 million reported initially. The April gain broke a three-month chain of declines in job openings. The job openings rate in April was 6.1%, up from 5.9% in March. This ratio is job openings as a percent of total nonfarm employment plus openings and reached a peak of 7.4% in March 2022 in data that date back to December 2000.
Among the various sectors of the economy, the job openings rate was highest in April at 7.7% in the education and health services sector and in the leisure and hospitality sector. The rate in education and health care rose in the month from 7.2% in March to April’s 7.7% and within that sector the rate for health care alone rose from March’s 7.5% to 8.2% in April. The 7.7% in leisure and hospitality in April represented a decline from 8.1% in March and included a decrease in accommodation and food services to 7.5% from 8.0% in March.
The developments in other industries were mixed, with a gain in the April openings rate in transportation and trade to 5.8% from 4.7% in March; construction saw a rise to 4.6% from 3.8%. The job openings rate in manufacturing eased to 4.9% in April from 5.1% in March, and in professional and business services, the rate decreased to 7.1% from 7.3%. The April rate declined to 4.1% in government from 4.4% the month before.
Total new hires increased in April to 6.115 million (-7.0% y/y) from 6.066 million in March, when they had declined 1.4%% m/m, following a 2.8% decline in February. The recent high was 6.843 million in November 2021 while there was a historic high of 8.098 million in May 2020, representing the reversal of a plunge the month before in the midst of the Covid pandemic.
The hiring rate was 3.9% in April, the same as in March and down slightly from February’s 4.0%. Hiring rates increased in professional and business services, 5.5% in April from 5.1% in March, in trade, transportation and utilities 4.3% from 4.1%, and in manufacturing 3.0% from 2.9%. The hiring rate decreased in construction to 4.5% in April from 4.9% in March and in government to 1.7% from 1.8%.
Separations decreased in April, for both layoffs and quits. Total layoffs and discharges were 1.581 million in April after 1.845 million in March. The overall layoff rate in April was 1.0% after March’s 1.2%; most industry sectors saw decreases, especially construction, 2.4% after 3.8%, education and health care, 0.6% after 0.8% and leisure and hospitality 1.1% after 1.7%. The layoff rates edged higher in trade, transportation and utilities 1.1% after 1.0% and was generally unchanged in other sectors.
Quit rates eased to 2.4% in April from 2.5% in March, with manufacturing at 1.9% following 2.0%, professional and business services at 2.7% after 2.9%, and education and health care, 2.3% after 2.5%. Quit rates were modestly higher in construction, 2.1% after 1.8%, trade, transportation and utilities 3.1% after 3.0% and leisure and hospitality 4.6% after 4.5%.
The Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) are available in Haver's USECON database.
Carol Stone, CBE
AuthorMore in Author Profile »Carol Stone, CBE came to Haver Analytics in 2003 following more than 35 years as a financial market economist at major Wall Street financial institutions, most especially Merrill Lynch and Nomura Securities. She has broad experience in analysis and forecasting of flow-of-funds accounts, the federal budget and Federal Reserve operations. At Nomura Securites, among other duties, she developed various indicator forecasting tools and edited a daily global publication produced in London and New York for readers in Tokyo. At Haver Analytics, Carol is a member of the Research Department, aiding database managers with research and documentation efforts, as well as posting commentary on select economic reports. In addition, she conducts Ways-of-the-World, a blog on economic issues for an Episcopal-Church-affiliated website, The Geranium Farm. During her career, Carol served as an officer of the Money Marketeers and the Downtown Economists Club. She has a PhD from NYU's Stern School of Business. She lives in Brooklyn, New York, and has a weekend home on Long Island.
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