US September JOLTS job openings 10.438M versus 10.300M estimate

Highlights of the job openings and labor turnover survey

• Prior was 10.439M (revised to 10.63M) 
• job openings 10.438M vs 10.3.  10.63
  
• Hires were little change at 6.459 million. Last month the hires came in at 6.497M
• Separations little change at 6.218 million. Last month total separations came in at 6.032M
• Quits increase to 4.4 million (+164,000 on the month). That was the highest level for quits
• Layoffs and discharges little change that 1.4M
  

Of note is there's been a structural, technology-driven change in hiring. Companies now spam job postings and are always hiring at the low end of the wage scale, even if it means letting someone go who is making more. There's a new reliance on automated, algorithmic resume sorting that's created a glut of both and skews the picture. 

The quits rate is now the most valuable part of this survey and it shows some improvement.

The largest quits in September came from arts, entertainment, and recreation (+56K), other services (+47K), state and local government education (+30K).  Quits decreased in wholesale trade (-30K) .

From the BLS:

Large numbers of hires and separations occur every month throughout the business cycle. Net employment change results from the relationship between hires and separations. When the number of hires exceeds the number of separations, employment rises, even if the hires level is steady or declining. Conversely, when the number of hires is less than the number of separations, employment declines, even if the hires level is steady or rising. 

Over the 12 months ending in September 2021, hires totaled 73.3 million and separations totaled 67.7 million, yielding a net employment gain of 5.6 million. These totals include workers who may have been hired and separated more than once during the year
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November 13, 2021 at 03:00AM

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