A Mixed October JOLTS Report Points to a Stable Labor Market
A Mixed October JOLTS Report Points to a Stable Labor Market
The labor market is steady, according to today’s JOLTS Report, but substantially weaker than it was a year ago. The key indicators were a mixed bag: job openings and quits both ticked upwards, and layoffs ticked downwards—all good news for job seekers and workers—despite hiring ticking downwards also. Zooming out, however, a cooling trend is clear. Job openings have fallen by almost one million over the course of the year, and monthly hires by half a million.
Here are some highlights of the report:
A white-collar rebound? Job openings in the information sector jumped up from 121K to 206K, the highest level since November, 2022. The data series is highly volatile, but the increase is consistent with recent tech stock performance in the wake of the Fed’s first few interest rate cuts, and may well signal the start of a tech hiring turnaround. Job openings also appear to be rebounding in professional and business services, where job gains have been weak over the past year.
Record-low construction layoffs. Layoffs and discharges in the construction sector fell from 170K to 97K, the lowest level recorded since the JOLTS survey began in 2000. The decline suggests that employer demand for workers is strong and that employers are holding onto their workers in anticipation of rising construction activity.
Record-high quits in other services. Economists have been using the term “The Great Stay” to describe the current labor market situation in which churn is relatively low. But not all industries are seeing low employee turnover. Quits hit a record high in the sector known as “other services,” which encompasses repair and maintenance services, beauty salons and laundromats, religious organizations and other associations. This category captures a diverse array of services that contribute significantly to local economies but are less likely to involve large corporate entities or mass production. The uptick in churn suggests that small businesses are still struggling to retain workers and that labor shortages remain a challenge for employers.
Take a tour through the JOLTS report in ZipRecruiter charts.
