U.S. Job Openings Top All Forecasts
White-collar job postings lead the way, highlighting the durability of labor demand.
U.S. job openings unexpectedly increased in August, fueled by a surge in white-collar postings, highlighting the durability of labor demand.
The number of available positions increased to 9.61 million, from a revised 8.92 million in July, the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ (BLS’s) Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey, or JOLTS, showed Tuesday. Hiring edged up, while layoffs remained low.
The level of openings topped all estimates in a Bloomberg survey of economists.
The so-called “quits rate,” which measures voluntary job leavers as a share of total employment, held at 2.3 percent, matching the lowest since 2020. Fewer quits implies Americans are less confident in their ability to find another job in the current market.
The pickup in openings reflected a more than half-million-job increase in professional and business services, as well as more postings in finance and insurance, education, and non-durable goods manufacturing. The rebound in vacancies points to how resilient demand is underpinning staffing needs. While an improvement in workforce participation and consistent wage increases have helped ease worker shortages, challenges remain.
The ratio of openings to unemployed people was little changed at 1.5-to-1. At its peak in 2022, the ratio was 2-to-1.
The Federal Reserve is closely watching the progress of the rebalancing happening in the labor market. Central bank officials expect this trend to continue, helping to ease price pressures.
In addition, hires increased for the first time in three months, though they remain below levels seen earlier this year. The gain reflected a pickup in accommodation and food services. Meanwhile, the low level of layoffs shows how companies remain reluctant to discharge employees.
The data precede Friday’s monthly jobs report, which is currently forecast to show employers added 170,000 jobs in September. The unemployment rate is expected to decrease slightly after a pickup in participation in August boosted the measure in the prior period.
Some economists have questioned the reliability of the JOLTS statistics, given the survey’s low response rate. That skepticism has been compounded by stories of employers “ghosting” jobseekers, a function of firms posting jobs they don’t actually intend to fill.
—With assistance from Augusta Saraiva & Chris Middleton.
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