JOLTs job openings to lowest level since Feb 2021
- Prior month 8.813M revised from 8.756M
- Job openings came in at 8.488 million down 1.1 million over the year. The rate was little change to 5.1% in March. The level is the lowest since February 2021.
- construction jobs fell -182K
- finance and insurance -158K
- local government education +68K
- Quits rate falls to 2.1% from 2.2% last month.. The total quits for little changed at 3.3 million but was down by 480,000 over the year.
- Hires was little change of $5.5 million down by 455,000 over the year. The rate at 3.5% is little changed from March
- Separations including quits, layoffs, and discharges and other separations decreased to 5.2 million (-339,000) the rate change little at 3.3%
Overall, the fall in the job openings suggests a weaker employment picture. There has been some uncertainty regarding this release. Are companies inflating their job openings in order to keep the pipeline open for essential workers.
Regarding the quits rate, it's decline is also a tilt to a softer jobs picture. In March 2023 the quits rate was higher at 2.5%.
