Job openings reach 10.6 million in November as tight labor market persists
Source: Reuters, via Yahoo! Finance
Yahoo Finance
Job openings reach 10.6 million in November as tight labor market persists
Emily McCormick · Reporter
Tue, January 4, 2022, 10:01 AM
Demand for workers in the U.S. remained historically elevated in November, with job openings holding near a record high amid the ongoing pandemic.
Vacancies totaled 10.562 million in November, according to the Labor Department's Job Openings and Labor Turnover Summary (JOLTS) released Tuesday. This comes is slightly lower than the 11.091 million in October, based on the government's revised print for the month. Consensus economists were looking for job openings to rise to 11.079 million in November, according to Bloomberg data.
By industry, job openings declined most notably in accommodation and food services, with vacancies falling by 261,000 but remaining at a still-elevated 1.3 million in total. Construction and non-durable goods manufacturing employers also saw notable drops in job openings at 110,000 and 66,000, respectively.
Beneath the headline number, the quits rate came in at 3.0%, matching the record-high level last seen in September and suggesting an elevated number of individuals were voluntarily leaving their jobs. About 1.37 million people were laid off or fired in November, compared to 2.12 million people in the same month in 2020.
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Read more: https://finance.yahoo.com/news/jolts-job-openings-labor-department-november-2021-150154251.html
I usually don't make a big deal about JOLTS, but it's been in the news lately. I'll also post this in its usual forum, with all the others.
I'm going to edit this first post. Yahoo! Finance has an article online now. The timestamp says 10:01, but I didn't see it. Oh, well.
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November job openings decrease, total separations increase, and hires change little
https://www.bls.gov/news.release/jolts.nr0.htm
Economic News Release USDL-22-0001
Job Openings and Labor Turnover Summary
For release 10:00 a.m. (ET) Tuesday, January 4, 2022
Technical information: (202) 691-5870 [email protected] www.bls.gov/jlt
Media contact: (202) 691-5902 [email protected]
JOB OPENINGS AND LABOR TURNOVER - NOVEMBER 2021
The number of job openings decreased to 10.6 million on the last business day of November, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Hires were little changed at 6.7 million and total separations increased to 6.3 million. Within separations, the quits rate increased to 3.0 percent, matching a series high last seen in September. The layoffs and discharges rate was unchanged at 0.9 percent. This release includes estimates of the number and rate of job openings, hires, and separations for the total nonfarm sector, by industry, by four geographic regions, and by establishment size class.
Job Openings
On the last business day of November, the number and rate of job openings decreased to 10.6 million (-529,000) and 6.6 percent, respectively. Job openings decreased in several industries with the largest decreases in accommodation and food services (-261,000); construction (-110,000); and nondurable goods manufacturing (-66,000). Job openings increased in finance and insurance (+83,000) and in federal government (+25,000). The number of job openings decreased in the South and Midwest regions. (See table 1.)
Hires
In November, the number and rate of hires were little changed at 6.7 million and 4.5 percent, respectively. Hires were little changed in all industries and in all four regions. (See table 2.)
Separations
Total separations includes quits, layoffs and discharges, and other separations. Quits are generally voluntary separations initiated by the employee. Therefore, the quits rate can serve as a measure of workers' willingness or ability to leave jobs. Layoffs and discharges are involuntary separations initiated by the employer. Other separations includes separations due to retirement, death, disability, and transfers to other locations of the same firm.
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The Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey estimates for December 2021 are scheduled to be released on Tuesday, February 1, 2022 at 10:00 a.m. (ET).
= new reply since forum marked as read
By Ben Casselman
Jan. 4, 2022Updated 10:42 a.m. ET
A record number of Americans quit their jobs in November, even as employers found it slightly easier to fill their open positions. More than 4.5 million people voluntarily left their jobs in November, the Labor Department said Tuesday. That was up from 4.2 million in October and was the most in the two decades that the government has been keeping track.
The rate of quitting has been especially high in hospitality and other low-wage sectors, where workers have been taking advantage of strong demand to look for jobs with better pay or working conditions. There were 10.6 million job openings posted on the last day of November. That was down from 11.1 million in October, but still more than in any month before the pandemic began. — and far more than the roughly seven million Americans looking for work.
“Employer demand is still extremely high, and the result of that is increased competition for workers,” said Daniel Zhao, senior economist at the career site Glassdoor. “That means more job openings, higher wages and more churn in the labor market. ”Competition for workers has led to faster wage growth this year, particularly for those changing jobs. Hourly wages for job switchers were up 4.3 percent in November on average, compared to a 3.2 percent gain for people who stayed in their jobs, according to data from the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta.
The data released Tuesday is from the Labor Department’s survey of job openings and labor turnover, known as JOLTS. On Friday, the department will release data from December on employment, unemployment and earnings, which most forecasters expect to show that job growth accelerated at the end of the year.
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/04/business/economy/job-openings-coronavirus.html
I noticed that many of the business analysts have characterized "higher wages" as a "negative" for the economy (have heard their various idiotic musings during some of the business segments on the radio).
Good morning (or what's left of it) and hope you had a good New Year (and hope this year will be better).
