- Prior month 9.824M (lower than the 9.935M estimate). Prior month revise to 9.616M
- Job Openings 9.582M vs 9.610M estimate
- The rate of job openings was also unchanged at 5.8%.
- The number of hires in June decreased to 5.9 million (-326,000), while the hire rate was little changed at 3.8%. The decrease in hires was seen in durable goods manufacturing (-54,000) and finance and insurance (-54,000)
- Total separations, including quits, layoffs and discharges, and other separations, decreased in June to 5.6 million (-288,000). The rate of separations was little changed at 3.6%
The number of quits decreased to 3.8 million (-295,000) and the quit rate to 2.4%. The number of quits decreased in retail trade (-95,000), health care and social assistance (-75,000), and construction (-51,000). Quits increased in arts, entertainment, and recreation (+20,000).
Details show:
Industries with increased job openings included health care and social assistance (+136,000) and state and local government excluding education (+62,000).
Industries with decreased job openings included transportation, warehousing, and utilities (-78,000), state and local government education (-29,000), and federal government (-21,000).
Decreased separations were seen in retail trade (-134,000), health care and social assistance (-84,000), and durable goods manufacturing (-54,000). Separations increased in professional and business services (+129,000).
The number of layoffs and discharges in June was unchanged at 1.5 million, with the rate remaining at 1.0%. Layoffs and discharges increased in professional and business services (+112,000) and decreased in durable goods manufacturing (-26,000) and in wholesale trade (-26,000).
Other separations, including retirements, deaths, disability, and transfers to other locations of the same firm, remained the same in June at 339,000.
In June, establishments with 1 to 9 employees saw a decrease in their quit rates and an increase in their other separation rates. Establishments with more than 5,000 employees saw increases in their quit rates.
The JOLTs data is older data (from June) and there is some concern that it may not be "true" to the real demand for workers. Nevertheles, looking at the chart above it is off the boil from 2022 levels, but still high historically (see chart above).
Traders also tend to watch things like the quits rate for the strength of the jobs market. if the quits rate moves higher it is indicative of workers feeling confident about finding another job. Looking at the chart of the quits rate below, it has moved back lower and toward the level pre-pandemic. Although still high relative to historical levels, there are some signs that workers are not so anxious to quit their jobs (and get another easily).
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