·      Gains: Healthcare (+46,000), Retail (+43,000), Government (+33,000).
·      Job Growth: +256,000 jobs, exceeding expectations.
·      Temporary Help Services: Rose for the second consecutive month, signaling demand for flexible labor.
·      November JOLTS report suggest employers and employees may be becoming more cautious when hiring or seeking new employment.
The U.S. labor market ended the year with a strong performance, with the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reporting 256,000 new jobs and a drop in the unemployment rate to 4.1%.
While this is good news, there are some signs that employers and employees are becoming a little more cautious.Â
The November JOLTS report reported that hiring and quitting slowed. Temporary Help is up for the second month in a row (November’s number was revised up) which may indicate a trend of employers favoring flexible staffing amid economic uncertainty, potentially reflecting caution in committing to permanent hires.
For a deeper dive….
·      A more encompassing measure of unemployment (U6) that includes discouraged workers and those holding part-time jobs for economic fell .3% to 7.5%.
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·      Prime age labor force participation rate (ages 25-54) fell .1% to 83.4%.
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·      The overall labor force participation held steady at 62.5%. This is still .7% below the level of February 2020.
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·      In December, average hourly earnings for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls rose by 10 cents, or 0.3 percent, to $35.69. Over the past 12 months, average hourly earnings have increased by 3.9 percent. In December, average hourly earnings of private-sector production and nonsupervisory employees, at $30.62, were little changed (+6 cents).
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·      In December, the average workweek for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls was 34.3 hours for the fifth month in a row. In manufacturing, the average workweek was little changed at 40.0 hours, and overtime edged down by 0.1 hour to 2.8 hours. The average workweek for production and nonsupervisory employees on private nonfarm payrolls remained at 33.7 hours.
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·      APD reported that 122,000 jobs were added in October.
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Source: ADP, BLS, CNBC, Fox News
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JOB OPENINGS AND LABOR TURNOVER – NOVEMBER 2024
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The number of job openings was little changed at 8.1 million on the last business day of November, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Over the month, hires and total separations were little changed at 5.3 million and 5.1 million, respectively. Within separations, quits (3.1 million) decreased,
but layoffs and discharges (1.8 million) changed little. This release includes estimates of the number and rate of job openings, hires, and separations for the total nonfarm sector, by industry, and by establishment size class.
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Job Openings
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The number of job openings was little changed at 8.1 million on the last business day of November but was down by 833,000 over the year. The job openings rate, at 4.8 percent, changed little over the month.
The number of job openings increased in professional and business services (+273,000), finance and insurance (+105,000), and private educational services (+38,000) but decreased in information (-89,000).
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Hires
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In November, the number of hires changed little at 5.3 million but was down by 300,000 over the year. The hires rate was little changed at 3.3 percent.
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Separations
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Total separations include quits, layoffs and discharges, and other separations. Quits are generally voluntary separations initiated by the employee. Therefore, the quits rate can serve as a measure of
workers’ willingness or ability to leave jobs. Layoffs and discharges are involuntary separations initiated by the employer. Other separations include separations due to retirement, death, disability, and transfers to other locations of the same firm.
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The number of total separations in November was little changed at 5.1 million but was down by 287,000 over the year. The total separations rate changed little at 3.2 percent.
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In November, the number of quits decreased to 3.1 million (-218,000) and declined by 451,000 over the year. Over the month, the quits rate decreased to 1.9 percent. Quits decreased in accommodation and food services (-85,000) and in arts, entertainment, and recreation (-22,000).
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In November, the number of layoffs and discharges changed little at 1.8 million but was up by 219,000 over the year. The rate remained unchanged at 1.1 percent. Layoffs and discharges increased in accommodation and food services (+102,000).
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The number of other separations changed little at 296,000 in November.
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Establishment Size Class
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The layoffs and discharges rate for establishments with 1 to 9 employees decreased in November, while the job openings, hires, total separations, and quits rates showed little change. For establishments with 5,000 or more employees, the job openings, hires, quits, layoffs and discharges, and total separations
rates showed little or no change.
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October 2024 Revisions
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The number of job openings for October was revised up by 95,000 to 7.8 million, the number of hires was revised up by 81,000 to 5.4 million, and the number of total separations was revised up by 45,000 to 5.3 million. Within separations, the number of quits was revised down by 43,000 to 3.3 million, and the
number of layoffs and discharges was revised up by 115,000 to 1.7 million. (Monthly revisions result from additional reports received from businesses and government agencies since the last published estimates and from the recalculation of seasonal factors.)
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The Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey estimates for December 2024 are scheduled to be released on Tuesday, February 4, 2025, at 10:00 a.m. (ET).