Thursday, September 8, 2016

A Record Number of Job Openings

According to the new JOLTS report - the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey - the number of job openings available at the end of July climbed to a new record of 5.9 million. The number of unemployed workers per job opening has fallen to 1.3, the lowest ratio since 2001.

Another strong indication of a healthy labor demand was the second straight month where layoffs were just 1.1 percent of the labor force, matching the lowest level ever.  Private layoffs are down to 1.2 percent this month, which also ties an all-time low.

One confounding complication: The number of people actually being hired into a job was just 5.2 million for the second month in a row, despite the 5.9 million openings.  About 300,000 fewer people are being hired each month compared with the pace reached in February.

No comments:

Post a Comment