The Job Openings and Labor Turnover (JOLT) report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) said that the number of job openings in July was 8.83 million, down 338,000 openings month-over-month. In addition, last month’s job openings figure was revised downward by 417,000 jobs. Job openings were down 2.55 million openings from the year-ago level.
Hiring was down less sharply from last month’s revised figure for the economy as a whole, falling 167,000 to a level of 5.77 million hires. Total separations fell 208,000 to a level of 5.48 million, although June’s separations total was revised upward by 54,000. Within total separations, quits fell 6.7 percent while layoffs were nearly unchanged. Quits represented 64.7 percent of total separations for the month.
Employment still higher
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 July job openings figure represents 5.3 percent of total employment plus job openings. For comparison, the unemployment rate in July was reported to be 3.5 percent and 5.8 million people were unemployed. Another 5.2 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 excess of hiring over separations in the July JOLT report implies an employment increase of 290,000 jobs for the month. Last month’s employment increase was revised to 249,000 jobs, down by 57,000 jobs from the gain reported last month.
Of those leaving their jobs in July, 3.55 million quit voluntarily, while 1.56 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 down from last month’s figure at 2.3 percent of the labor force. The involuntary separations rate was unchanged from last month’s figure at 1.0 percent.
Construction hiring rises
The first chart, below, shows the employment situation for the construction jobs market over the last 37 months. It shows that July saw a net gain of only 18,000 construction jobs. However, revisions to June’s results raised the construction jobs gains for that month by 12,000 jobs to 54,000 jobs.
Construction jobs openings in July were reported to be 363,000 jobs, 2.8 percent lower than the year-earlier level. On a month-over-month basis, openings for construction jobs were reported to fall by 23,000 openings from June’s revised (+12,000) job openings figure. Job openings in the construction category represent 4.4 percent of total employment plus job openings, down from the 4.5 percent level reported last month.
Hiring was reported to be up by 14,000 jobs in July from the prior month’s revised (+26,000) jobs figure at 386,000 new hires. The number of construction jobs that were filled in July was reported to be down 3.0 percent year-over-year.
Construction jobs total separations were reported to rise by 50,000 jobs from the prior month’s revised (+13,000) figure to 368,000 jobs. Quits were reported to rise by 7,000 jobs from June’s revised (+24,000) figure to a level of 187,000 jobs.
Layoffs were reported to rise by 49,000 from June’s revised (-18,000) figure to 171,000 jobs. “Other separations” which includes retirements and transfers, were reported to be down 7,000 at 9,000 jobs. Quits represented 51 percent of separations for the month, the same level reported for June.
RERL job openings again 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 12,000 jobs in July.
The number of job openings in the RERL category was reported to be 153,000 jobs at the end of July. This was up 24,000 job openings from the unchanged level of the month before. Job openings in July were 2.0 percent lower than their year-earlier level. Job openings in the RERL category represent 5.9 percent of total employment plus job openings.
Hiring in July was up by 6,000 jobs from June’s revised (+2,000) level at 80,000 jobs. The hiring figure was 5 percent below the year-earlier level.
Total separations in the RERL jobs category in July were up by 3,000 from June’s unchanged figure at 63,000 jobs. Quits were down by 5,000 jobs from June’s unchanged figure at 43,000 jobs. Quits represented 68 percent of total separations in July, down from the revised level of 80 percent in June. Layoffs were reported to rise by 6,000 from June’s revised (+1,000) figure to 17,000 jobs.
The numbers given in the JOLT report are seasonally adjusted and are subject to revision. It is common for 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.
