U.S. JOLTS: Job Openings Reach An All-Time High
Summary
- The number of job openings reached a series high in March.
- New hires edged down.
- Quits and layoffs rose.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that on the last business day of March, the total number of job openings was at a series high of 11.549 million, 1.8% m/m (+36.2% y/y) from February's 11.344 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 7.1% in March, up from 7.0% in February. New hires edged down 1.4% m/m (+8.5% y/y) to 6.737 million. The hiring rate was to 4.5% in March, unchanged from February.
The total number of job quits rose 3.5% m/m (+22.8% y/y) to 4.536 million from 4.384 million in February. The quits rate edged up to 3.0% from February's 2.9%. Layoffs and discharges totaled 1.405 million in March, up 3.8% m/m (-7.1% y/y) from 1.354 million in February. The JOLTS figures date back to December 2000.
Private-sector job openings rose 2.4% m/m (+37.1% y/y) in March, to 10.504 million, with the private-sector job openings rate at 7.5%, up from 7.4% in February.
Among select industries, openings in professional and business services were up 5.1% m/m (+34.8% y/y) in March to 2.141 million. Job openings in health care and social assistance were 2.027 million, down 1.2% m/m (+48.0% y/y). In manufacturing, job opening rose 9.6% m/m (+14.5% y/y) in March to 860,000. They rose 2.2% m/m (+22.1% y/y) in trade, transportation and utilities to 2.036 million. Government sector job openings were 1.044 million at the end of March, down 4.0% m/m and up 27.6% y/y.
Total separations include quits, layoffs and discharges, and other separations. The level of private sector separations was 5.917 million in March, up 4.2% m/m and 13.5% y/y. The private sector quits rate was 3.3%, up slightly from 3.2% in February.
Layoffs and discharges are involuntary separations initiated by the employer. In the private sector, these were 1.320 million in March, up from 1.273 million in February. The layoff and discharge rate in March was 1.0%, unchanged from February. Among various industries, layoffs and discharges were 371,000 in professional and business services, a rate of 1.7%. In leisure and hospitality, they were 186,000, a rate of 1.2%. In manufacturing, there were 101,000 layoffs and discharges, a rate of 0.8% and in construction, 121,000, representing a rate of 1.6%.
The Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) are available in Haver's USECON database.
Kathleen Stephansen, CBE
AuthorMore in Author Profile »Kathleen Stephansen is a Senior Economist for Haver Analytics and an Independent Trustee for the EQAT/VIP/1290 Trust Funds, encompassing the US mutual funds sponsored by the Equitable Life Insurance Company. She is a former Chief Economist of Huawei Technologies USA, Senior Economic Advisor to the Boston Consulting Group, Chief Economist of the American International Group (AIG) and AIG Asset Management’s Senior Strategist and Global Head of Sovereign Research. Prior to joining AIG in 2010, Kathleen held various positions as Chief Economist or Head of Global Research at Aladdin Capital Holdings, Credit Suisse and Donaldson, Lufkin and Jenrette Securities Corporation.
Kathleen serves on the boards of the Global Interdependence Center (GIC), as Vice-Chair of the GIC College of Central Bankers, is the Treasurer for Economists for Peace and Security (EPS) and is a former board member of the National Association of Business Economics (NABE). She is a member of Chatham House and the Economic Club of New York. She holds an undergraduate degree in economics from the Universite Catholique de Louvain and graduate degrees in economics from the University of New Hampshire (MA) and the London School of Economics (PhD abd).
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