- Prior month 7.079M revised to 7.19M
Details of the JOLTs Job openings:
-
Job openings: 7.523 million vs 7.190 million, up 333,000. August revised up by 111,000 to 7.2 million.
-
Job openings rate: 4.5%.
-
Hires: 5.402 million vs 5.271 million, up 131,000.
-
Total separations: 5.319 million vs 5.175 million, up 144,000.
-
Quits: 3.4 million vs 3.0 million in August, revised down by 22,000.
-
Layoffs and discharges: 1.6 million vs 1.8 million in August, revised up by 127,000.
-
Quits rate: 2.1%. Layoffs and discharges rate: 1.0%.
-
Private-sector openings: 6.644 million vs 6.408 million, up 236,000.
-
Government openings: 880,000 vs 782,000, up 98,000.
US job openings were 7.5 million in September, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That was above August’s upwardly revised 7.2 million, although the BLS characterized the monthly change as little changed. Hiring and total separations also showed little change, pointing to a broadly steady labor market.
The more notable development was the increase in workers voluntarily leaving their jobs. Quits rose to 3.4 million, led by a 197,000 increase in accommodation and food services. That can signal greater confidence in finding another position, although the concentration in one industry tempers the broader message. Quits were up 375,000 from a year earlier.
Job openings increased by 104,000 in state and local government excluding education, while accommodation and food services added 158,000 hires. Layoffs in health care and social assistance declined by 70,000. Overall layoffs were numerically below August’s revised level, but the BLS described the change as little changed.
Where were the job openings?
Professional and business services led the increase in available positions, with openings rising by 106,000 to 1.310 million. State and local government excluding education added another 104,000 openings. Together, those two categories accounted for roughly 63% of the overall monthly increase.
Manufacturing openings increased by 54,000 to 584,000, while construction openings rose by 36,000 to 298,000. Those are encouraging signs of labor demand. However, an available position is only one step. Businesses still need to turn those openings into actual hires.
Hiring tells a more mixed story
Manufacturing illustrates that distinction. Despite the increase in openings, manufacturing hires fell by 34,000 to 313,000. Professional and business services showed a similar divergence: openings increased, but hires declined by 30,000 to 927,000.
Construction was stronger on both measures, with hiring increasing by 49,000 to 356,000. Retail hiring also rose by 40,000 to 704,000.
The biggest hiring increase came from accommodation and food services, where hires rose by 158,000 to 879,000. That increase alone exceeded the economy-wide hiring gain of 131,000, meaning the remaining industries combined recorded a net decline in hiring.
Hospitality shows turnover, rather than a clear hiring surge
Accommodation and food services also recorded a 195,000 increase in separations to 883,000. Departures therefore slightly exceeded hires during September. Combined with the previously reported increase in quits, the figures point to substantial movement between jobs rather than a clear expansion in staffing.
Financial activities offered a softer signal. Openings fell by 19,000 to 364,000, while hires declined by 12,000 to 156,000.
Quick analysis: The stronger openings figure gives the labor-market bulls some support, but hiring provides a more cautious barometer. Employers advertised more positions in several important industries without a matching increase in recruitment. That mixed picture could temper upward pressure on yields and the dollar from the headline openings increase and gives the Fed reason to assess the broader employment data.
What this report measures: The Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) distinguishes available jobs from actual hiring and employee departures. Separations include voluntary quits, layoffs and other departures, so an increase does not automatically mean more workers were dismissed. Monthly industry estimates are subject to revision, and numerical changes are not necessarily statistically significant.
This article was written by Greg Michalowski at investinglive.com.