In a recent report released by the government, data indicates that US job openings have experienced a notable increase, while the rates of quits and layoffs have shown signs of cooling down. The Bureau of Labor Statistics' Job Openings and Labor Turnover survey revealed that vacancies climbed to 8.04 million at the end of August, a significant increase from the previous month's figure of 7.71 million.
This rise exceeded expectations, as analysts had forecasted a level of approximately 7.67 million, according to a survey compiled by Bloomberg. Examining private sector job openings, the number rose to 7.07 million in August, up from 6.84 million in July. Notable increases in vacancies were observed across various sectors, with construction experiencing a rise of 138,000 openings, trade, transportation, and utilities adding 92,000, and accommodation and food services increasing their vacancies by 88,000. Thomas Simons, a US Economist at Jefferies, commented, "The labor market is rebalancing to a state that supports stability without putting upward pressure on inflation." He pointed out that the vacancy to unemployed ratio is the lowest observed since May 2021, indicating a shift towards a more balanced job market. On the other hand, job separations, encompassing both quits and layoffs, saw a decline to 5 million, down from the previous month's 5.31 million.
Specifically, quits fell to 3.08 million in August, down from 3.24 million in July, while layoffs and discharges saw a decrease to 1.61 million from 1.71 million during the same period. The report highlighted that quits decreased by 104,000 in trade, transportation, and utilities, along with a drop of 81,000 in leisure and hospitality sectors.
In healthcare and social assistance, layoffs cooled down by 52,000, reflecting a trend towards job market stability. Looking ahead, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics is set to release a report on Friday, expected to show that the US economy added 144,000 jobs in September. This figure suggests a potential acceleration compared to the 142,000 increase reported in August.
Simons noted that the stabilization observed in the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) report offers a degree of confidence in their strong employment forecasts for the upcoming report this Friday..