U.S. JOLTS: Openings & Hiring Improve in January
by:Tom Moeller
|in:Economy in Brief
Summary
- Job openings rise during January following a lessened December decline.
- Increase is concentrated in retail trade & financial industries.
- Hiring improves but separations increase.
The number of job openings increased 232,000 (-8.6% y/y) to 7.74 million during January after declining 523,000 in December, revised from 556,000, and rising 416,000 in November, revised from 317,000, according to the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey. The number of job openings has been trending downward since the peak of 12.134 million reached in March 2022. The job openings rate edged up to 4.6% from an unrevised 4.5% in December. The rate remains well below a high of 7.4% in March 2022. This rate is calculated as the ratio of job openings to total nonfarm employment plus openings. Data in this report was revised back to January 2020.
Private sector openings rose 226,000 (-9.5% y/y) in January to 6.86 million after declining 528,000 in December, revised from -548,000. The January increase reflected a 143,000 rise (15.9% y/y) in retail trade and a 58,000 increase (-21.7% y/y) in health care & social assistance. Construction (-42.0% y/y) and manufacturing (-16.9% y/y) openings both rose 31,000. Offsetting these gains, professional & business service openings declined 122,000 (-13.9% y/y) while leisure & hospitality job openings fell 46,000 (+1.5% y/y). Government job openings rose 6,000 (-1.2% y/y). The private sector job openings rate edged up to 4.8% in January from 4.7% in December. It remained below 5.4% twelve months earlier and 7.9% at its peak in March 2022.
Total hiring rose 19,000 (-3.2% y/y) to 5.393 million during January after a 67,000 December increase, revised from 89,000, following a 43,000 drop in November. Private sector hiring rose 18,000 (-3.2% y/y) after a 37,000 December increase and a 26,000 November fall. Professional & business services hiring rose 36,000 (-6.4% y/y) while retail trade jobs rose 26,000 (12.0% y/y). Factory sector hiring increased 32,000 (-13.5% y/y) while the number of construction jobs rose 26,000 (-5.1% y/y). Leisure & hospitality employment fell 50,000 (-12.1% y/y). Government hiring rose 2,000 (-3.6% y/y).
Total job separations rose 170,000 (-3.3% y/y) to 5.252 million in January after falling 5,000 in December, and sliding 198,000 in November. Quits rose 171,000 (-2.6% y/y) after rising 63,000 in December. Construction sector jumped 53,000 (21.2% y/y), professional & business services quits rose 30,000 (18.7% y/y) while leisure & hospitality gained 7,000 (-20.9% y/y). Layoffs & discharges declined 34,000 (-3.4% y/y), the fifth decline in the last six months. Other separations rose 32,000 (-8.9% y/y). Private layoffs fell 13,000 (-3.7% y/y) in January, reflecting a 29,000 decrease (+14.8% y/y) in retail trade. Leisure & hospitality layoffs declined 33,000 (+5.0% y/y). This was offset by a 62,000 rise (-23.7% y/y) in professional & business services layoffs. Layoffs in the government sector fell 21,000 (+4.2% 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.
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