Private sector job openings drop
Private non-farm job “openings” declined 3.20 percent since September, but climbed 13.55 percent above the level seen in October 2010. Private non-farm job “hires” declined 2.65 percent from September and rose 5.64 percent above the level seen in October 2010.
This chart shows the annual and monthly change in private nonfarm job openings since 2004, a measure of labor turnover. Since bottoming out in 2009, rates have been recovering slowly but have yet to reach pre-recession levels.
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The Bureau of Labor Statistics has released their latest monthly read of job availability and labor turnover (JOLT) showing that private non-farm job “openings” declined 3.20% since September climbing 13.55% above the level seen in October 2010 while private non-farm job “hires” declined 2.65% from September and rose 5.64% above the level seen in October 2010.
Job “layoffs and discharges” declined 6.92% from September falling 2.61% below the level seen last year while quitting activity declined 3.56% from September remaining 9.85% above the level seen in October 2010.
It’s important to understand that job “quits” are included as a component of the “separations” data series as “quitting” is a valid means of workers “separating” from employers but their inclusion tends to create an overall procyclical trend in what would otherwise be logically thought of as a countercyclical process (i.e. downturn leads to increase in separations not decrease).