The Job Openings and Labor Turnover (JOLT) report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) said that the number of job openings in February was 9.93 million, down 632,000 openings from last month’s figure and down 1,670,000 openings from December’s level. Hiring was also down from last month’s revised figure for the economy as a whole, while total separations fell fractionally. Within total separations, quits rose while layoffs fell.
Employment rises despite fall in openings
For a discussion of the JOLT report and how it relates to the Employment Situation Report, please see the paragraph at the end of this article.
The BLS reported that job openings were down 6 percent at the end of February from the revised (-261,000) level of the month before. The February job openings figure represents 6.0 percent of total employment plus job openings. For comparison, the unemployment rate in February was reported to be 3.6 percent and 5.9 million people were unemployed. Another 5.1 million people said that they would like a job but were not counted as being in the labor force since they were not actively seeking employment.
The number of people hired for a new job in February was 6.16 million, while the number of people leaving their old jobs was 5.82 million. Of those leaving their jobs, 4.02 million quit voluntarily, representing 69 percent of total separations, while 1.50 million people were involuntarily separated from their jobs. The remainder of people leaving their jobs left for other reasons, such as retirements or transfers. The portion of people quitting their jobs was up from last month’s figure at 2.6 percent of the labor force. The involuntary separations rate was down slightly from last month’s revised figure at 1.0 percent.
Construction job openings rebound
The first chart, below, shows the employment situation for the construction jobs market over the last 37 months. It shows that February saw a net increase of 20,000 jobs.
Construction jobs openings in February were reported to be 412,000 jobs, 9 percent lower than the year-earlier level. Openings for construction jobs were reported to rise by 129,000 openings from January’s revised (+35,000) job openings figure. Job openings in the construction category represent 4.9 percent of total employment plus job openings, up from the 3.0 percent level reported last month.
Hiring was reported to be up down 18,000 jobs in February from the prior month’s revised (-4,000) jobs figure at 369,000 new hires. The number of construction jobs that were filled in February was reported to be down 12 percent year-over-year.
Construction jobs total separations were reported to fall by 7,000 jobs from the prior month’s revised (+9,000) figure to 349,000 jobs. Quits were reported to fall by 23,000 jobs from January’s revised (+3,000) figure to a level of 156,000 jobs. Layoffs were reported to rise by 14,000 from January’s revised (-11,000 jobs) figure to 175,000 jobs. “Other separations” which includes retirements and transfers, were reported to be up 2,000 at 17,000 jobs. Quits represented 45 percent of separations for the month, down from the revised level of 48 percent reported for January.
RERL job openings higher
The last chart, below, shows the employment situation for the real estate and rental and leasing (RERL) jobs category. Employment in this jobs category was reported to rise by 13,000 jobs in February. Data revisions resulted in last month’s reported employment gain being revised lower to a gain of 6,000 jobs.
The number of job openings in the RERL category was 127,000 jobs at the end of February. This was reported to be up 13,000 job openings from the level of the month before. Job openings in February were 20 percent lower than their year-earlier level. Job openings in the RERL category represent 5.0 percent of total employment plus job openings.
Hiring in February was up by 1,000 jobs from January’s revised (-1,000) level at 91,000 jobs. This hiring figure was 12 percent above the year-earlier level.
Total separations in the RERL jobs category in February were down 6,000 jobs from January’s revised (+1,000) figure at 78,000 jobs. Quits were up by 6,000 jobs from January’s figure at 52,000 jobs. Quits represented 67 percent of total separations in February, up from the revised level of 55 percent for January.
The numbers given in the JOLT report are seasonally adjusted and are subject to revision. It is common for small adjustments to be made in subsequent reports, particularly to the data for the most recent month. The full current JOLT report can be found here.
Comparing the reports
The US labor market is very dynamic with many people changing jobs in any given month. The JOLT report documents this dynamism by providing details about job openings, hiring and separations. However, it does not break down the jobs market into as fine categories as does the Employment Situation Report, which provides data on total employment and unemployment. For example, while the Employment Situation Report separates residential construction from other construction employment, the JOLT report does not. The Employment Situation Report separates residential property managers from other types of real estate and rental and leasing professionals, but the JOLT report does not. However, the JOLT report provides a look at what is driving the employment gains (or losses) in broad employment categories.
