Job openings fell back to 6.9 million in February after January numbers were revised up, according to the latest U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Job Openings and Labor Turnover Summary (JOLTS) report.
The number of jobs in January was revised up by 294,000 to 7.2 million. While the 6.9 million recorded in February marked a decrease, the figure was in line with industry estimates, according to Seeking Alpha.
The JOLTS report provides insights into the number of job openings, hires, quits, and layoffs, offering a detailed snapshot of labor demand in the U.S. The report falls a month behind the jobs report.
Job Openings Fall After Upward Revision to January’s Report
The overall number of job openings and the rate of job openings stood at 6.9 million and 4.2%, respectively, on the last day of February, according to the BLS.
Compared to the revised numbers for January, job openings ticked up in some industries including retail trade (+24,000) and professional and business services (+64,000)
Accommodation and food services employers reported 211,000 fewer job openings in February. Job openings in manufacturing also fell by a notable 71,000.
Meanwhile, most other industries recorded a slight decline in job openings including finance and insurance (-3,000), federal government (-3,000) and information (-9,000)
Hiring Activity Drops in February
Like job openings, the number of hires in January was revised up for January by 53,000 to 5.3 million. From there, the number of hires decreased by 498,000 to 4.8 million in February, according to the latest JOLTS report. Hiring activity is down by 387,000 over the year.
The industries that increased hiring in January included:
- Finance and insurance (+36,000)
- Retail trade (+26,000)
- State and local government (+8,000)
Industries that reported fewer hires in the month of January included:
- Professional and business services (-154,000)
- Accommodation and food services (-178,000)
- Construction (-88,000)
Total separations, which include quits, layoffs, discharges, and other separations, was revised up by 39,000 to 5.1 million in January. In February, separations fell by 173,000.
Quits, often regarded as a measure to watch in order to better understand employee confidence, fell by 157,000 in February. Meanwhile, layoffs increased slightly by 61,000 to 1.7 million. The number of layoffs is still down by 146,000 over the year.
Reading February’s Labor Signals with Focus
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Sources: BLS, Seeking Alpha
