The Job
Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) published by the Labor Department on Tuesday showed a 3.3 per cent
m-o-m climb in the U.S. job openings in November 2024 after an upwardly revised 6.3 per
cent m-o-m surge (from +5.0 per cent m-o-m) in October 2024.
According to
the report, employers posted 8.098 million job openings in November compared to
the October reading of 7.839 million (revised from 7.744 million in last
month’s report) and economists’ estimate of 7.700 million. This was the highest
figure since May 2024 (8.230 million). The job openings rate came in at 4.8 per
cent in November, up from
an upwardly revised 4.7 per cent (from 4.6 per cent) in the previous month. The
report revealed that the largest gains in job openings occurred in professional
and business services (+273,000), finance and insurance (+105,000), and private
educational services (+38,000). Meanwhile, the biggest drop was observed in information
(-89,000).
At the same
time, the number of hires fell
by 2.3 per cent m-o-m to 5.269 million in November compared to an upwardly
revised 5.394 million (from 5.313 million) in October. This marked the lowest
print since June 2024 (5.248 million). The hiring rate came
in at 3.3 per cent, slightly down from an upwardly revised October reading of 3.4 per cent (from 3.3 per
cent).
The separation
rate was 5.126 million (or 3.2 per cent) in November, down 3.4 per cent from an
upwardly revised October reading of 5.306 million (or 3.3 per cent). This marked
the lowest reading since June
2024 (5.084 million). Within separations, the
number of quits reached 3.065 million (-6.6 per cent m-o-m) and the number of layoffs reached 1.765 million (+1.0 per cent m-o-m). The quits rate was 1,9 per cent (-0.2 p.p. m-o-m), and the layoffs rate was 1.1
per cent (flat m-o-m).