Key Takeaways:
- Latest unemployment claims of 184,000 are the lowest in over forty years.
- Over 4 million people quit their jobs in October alone.
- Health & Social Services, Professional Services and Leisure account for nearly half the current job openings.
By Manuel Gutierrez, Consulting Economist to NKBA
The number of jobs available rose again October to 11.0 million, anincrease of 431,000 from the previous month. This is the second highest level ever, exceeded only in July which had 76,000 more openings.
The current level highlights the pressures that businesses face in trying to meet their needs.
Current available jobs, as seen in Figure 1, are much higher than a year ago, when there were 4.16 million fewer openings.
While employers are struggling, workers are experiencing one of the most favorable employment periods in the nation’s history.
Figure 2 demonstrates this very positive situation for them. In October, the latest month for which job opening data is available, the unemployment figure stood at 7.42 million, which is 3.61 million below the number of openings. In other words, there are 1.5 jobs available for every person who is unemployed.
The number of jobs available rose to 11 million in October, translating into 1.5 job openings for every person who is unemployed.
Prior to 2018, there were more people unemployed than there were job openings.
This excess has given workers greater flexibility within the job market which has led to more of them voluntarily leaving their jobs than since this data was first collected in 2000.
Figure 3 displays the trend in the number of people quitting their job back to 2001. In October alone, 4.16 million people quit their jobs, near the record who had resigned in each of the preceding two months.
The number of claims for unemployment benefits fell to 184,000 at the beginning of this month. This is the lowest number since the late 1970s, more than 40 years ago.
What industries have the greatest number of openings and quits?
Health & Social Services, Professional Services and Leisure lead with most openings, each accounting for nearly equal percentages. Health & Social Services leads with 1.823 million jobs or 16.5% of the total openings.
Professional Services currently has 1.819 million openings, or 16.4% of the total. Leisure is third, with 1.78 million jobs open, or 16.1% of the U.S. total. Combined, they account for nearly half of all job openings.
Most of the job quits are in Leisure, accounting for over one in five of the total number resigning their job. That’s 887,000 leaving just in October.
A close second in the percentage of quits in Hotels & Restaurants, with 803,000 leaving in October, or 19% of the total. Professional Services is not far behind, at 18%.
Charts:
