Jamie Spencer
Job Openings Hit Six-Month High
Job openings in the U.S. rose to 8.1 million in November, exceeding economists’ expectations and marking the highest level since May 2023, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). This increase follows a revised 7.84 million openings in October, up from the initially reported 7.74 million.
Economists surveyed by Bloomberg had predicted November’s job openings would remain steady at 7.74 million.
Hiring and Quitting Rates Decline
Despite the rise in job openings, other indicators of labor market activity showed signs of cooling:
- Hiring: Employers made 5.27 million hires in November, down from 5.39 million in October. The hiring rate dropped to 3.3% from 3.4%.
- Quits: The quits rate, a measure of worker confidence, fell to 1.9% from 2.1%, reaching levels below those seen before the pandemic.
Nancy Vanden Houten, lead U.S. economist at Oxford Economics, characterized the report as reflective of a “no hire, no fire” labor market.
Labor Market Cooling “Orderly and Gradual”
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell recently noted that the labor market has loosened compared to pre-pandemic conditions. However, he emphasized that the cooling process has been “gradual and orderly,” supporting the Fed’s view that further significant labor market adjustments may not be necessary to bring inflation down to its 2% target.
“We don’t think we need further cooling in the labor market to get inflation down to 2%,” Powell stated.
Slowing, But Not Collapsing
Wells Fargo senior economist Sarah House observed that while the labor market has decelerated overall, it has not experienced a dramatic downturn. This steadiness has allowed the Federal Reserve to maintain its gradual approach to interest rate reductions planned for 2025.
“Hiring may be easing up, but it is not collapsing,” House noted. “And while businesses are not looking for as many workers as they were a year or two ago, they are not laying off workers in droves either.”
December Jobs Report on the Horizon
The broader state of the U.S. labor market will come into clearer focus with Friday’s December jobs report. Economists anticipate 163,000 jobs were added in December, a decrease from the 227,000 added in November. The unemployment rate is expected to remain steady at 4.2%.
