The Job
Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) issued by the Labor Department on Tuesday showed a 5.0 per cent m-o-m
surge in the U.S. job openings in October after a downwardly revised 6.2 per
cent m-o-m plunge (from -5.3 per cent m-o-m) in September.
According to
the report, employers posted 7.744 million job openings in October compared to
the September reading of 7.372 million (revised from 7.443 million in last
month’s report) and economists’ estimate of 7.480 million. The job openings
rate came in at 4.6 per cent in October, up from a downwardly revised 4.4 per cent (from 4.5 per
cent) in the previous month. The report revealed that the largest gains in job
openings occurred in professional and business services (+209,000), accommodation
and food services (+162,000), and information (+87,000). Meanwhile, the biggest
drop was observed in federal government (-26,000).
At the same
time, the number of hires declined
by 4.8 per cent m-o-m to 5.313 million in October compared to an upwardly
revised 5.582 million (from 5.558 million) in September. This represented the lowest
print in four months. The hiring rate came in at 3.3 per
cent, down from an unrevised September reading of 3.3 per cent. The sharpest fall in hires was recorded in private educational
services (-24,000).
The separation
rate was 5.261 million (or 3.3 per cent) in October, up 1.3 per cent from an unrevised September reading of 5.196 million
(or 3.3 per cent). This marked the highest reading in three months. Within separations,
the number of quits reached 3.326 million (+7.4 per cent m-o-m) and the number
of layoffs
reached 1.633 million (-9.4 per cent m-o-m). The quits rate was 2.1 per cent (+0.2
p.p. m-o-m), and the layoffs rate was 1.0
per cent (-0.1 p.p. m-o-m).