Job Openings in U.S. Fall to 18-Month Low as Hiring Holds Up

(Bloomberg) --

U.S. job openings unexpectedly slumped in September to the lowest level in a year and a half on broad declines across industries, another sign of moderating yet still-strong hiring.

The number of positions waiting to be filled fell by to 7.02 million from an upwardly revised 7.3 million in August, according to the Labor Department’s Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey, or JOLTS, released Tuesday. The quits rate declined to a three-month low of 2.3%, though still suggesting workers remain generally confident about job prospects.

Key Insights

• The third drop in openings in the past four months continues the pullback from a record level last year. Companies have eased hiring this year amid struggles to find qualified workers and uncertainty about trade policy.
• Even with the decline, the total for vacancies exceeded the number of unemployed Americans by more than 1 million.
• The report follows the latest jobs report Friday showing employers added a more-than-expected 128,000 jobs in October while the unemployment rate rose slightly to 3.6%.

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• A sizeable revision added 250,000 job openings to the August tally, which was originally reported as 7.05 million.
• The number of openings for state and local government rose to 622,000, a record in figures since 2000.
• Hiring increased 0.9% to 5.93 million while separations increased 1.3% to 5.81 million.
• The drop in openings reflected declines in retail, health care, professional and business services, and construction, while all four regions of the U.S. saw declines.
• Although it lags a month behind other Labor Department data, the JOLTS report adds context to monthly employment figures by measuring dynamics such as resignations, help-wanted ads and hiring.

To contact the reporter on this story: William Edwards in Washington at wedwards29@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Scott Lanman at slanman@bloomberg.net, Jeff Kearns, Vince Golle

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