Jacob Wackerhausen / Getty Images
The Key Takeaways
- Unexpectedly, the number of job openings in November rose. This surprised economists expecting them to remain flat.
- The job market has remained stagnant despite the increase in hiring and layoffs. Fewer employees are willing to leave their jobs.
- Both employers and workers may wait to see how the new administration will affect the economy.
In November, employers posted more signs stating that they needed help as the employment market rebounded unexpectedly.
Bureau of Labor Statistics data released Tuesday showed that U.S. companies had more than 8.1 million open positions in November, compared to 7.8 millions in October. The Dow Jones Newswires/The Wall Street Journal survey of economics found that the openings were at their highest level since May. This was despite forecasters expecting the same number.
The upswing in hiring did not change the general picture, however, as both layoffs and new hires were relatively low compared with the 2022-2023 post-pandemic period. The ratio was 1.1 for every unemployed person in November. This is down from mid-2022’s record of 2-1, but still slightly above the 1.2-1 pre-pandemic ratio.
Layoffs remained rare, with the layoff rate staying at 1.1%, near the historically low levels where it's been hovering since 2021. The quit rate fell to just 1.9% in November from a previous 2.1%. The lower the quitting rate, the less confident workers are that they'll find a higher-paid position elsewhere.
The hiring rate, on the other hand slowed down for the second consecutive week to 3,3% from the 3.4% recorded in October.
"The report shows an entrenched labor market," Robert Frick, corporate economist at Navy Federal Credit Union, wrote in a commentary. "Despite more job openings, hiring is weakening, workers are even more reluctant to quit their jobs, and layoffs are low. It feels like a wait-and-see scenario as employers and employees alike wait for the next administration’s policies."
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Bureau of Labor Statistics. "Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey."
MarketWatch. "U.S. Economic Calendar."
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