U.S. JOLTS: Job Openings Nearly Steady in February
Summary
- Job openings rate unchanged at 7.0%.
- Hirings increase enough that rate rose.
- Quits rose while layoffs & discharged eased.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that on the last business day of February, the total number of job openings was 11.266 million, down 0.2% (+43.3% y/y) from January’s 11.283 million. With this small change in the number of job openings, the job openings rate, calculated as job openings as a percent of the sum of total employment and openings, was steady at 7.0%. New hires were up 4.1% (+11.0% y/y) to 6.689 million. The hiring rate ticked up to 4.4% from January’s 4.3%. The number of job quits rose 2.2% (+26.5% y/y) to 4.352 million from 4.258 million in January. The quits rate edged up to 2.9% in February from January’s 2.8%. Layoffs and discharges totaled 1.386 million in February, down 1.2% (-15.5% y/y) from January’s 1.403 million. The JOLTS figures date back to December 2000.
Private-sector job openings fell 0.5% in February (+42.9% y/y) to 10.185 million, with the private-sector job openings rate steady at 7.4%. Among select industries, openings were largest in professional and business services, up 0.5% in February (+39.5% y/y), to 2.088 million. The next largest industry, not surprisingly, was health care and social assistance, 2.022 million, up 2.2% m/m (34.8% y/y). In manufacturing, job opening fell 5.9% in February (+40.0% y/y) to 808,000. They rose 1.7% in trade, transportation and utilities (+26.5% y/y) to 1.863 million. Government sector job openings were 1.081 million at the end of February, up 3.1% m/m and 47.7% y/y.
Total separations include quits, layoffs and discharges, and other separations. The level of private sector separations were 5.693 million in February, up 0.4% m/m and 12.0% y/y. The private sector quits rate was 3.2%, the same as in January.
Layoffs and discharges are involuntary separations initiated by the employer. In the private sector, these were 1.307 million in February, down from 1.327 million in January. The layoff & discharge rate in February was 1.0%, still close to its level of the preceding nine months. Among various industries, layoffs and discharges were 404,000 in professional and business services, a rate of 1.8%. In leisure and hospitality, they were 169,000, a rate of 1.1%. In manufacturing, there were 101,000 layoffs and discharges, a rate of 0.8% and in construction, 155,000, representing a rate of 2.0%.
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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