Despite an anemic jobs report last week, job openings fell for the first time since May, according to the latest data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics…(BLS)
- Job openings decreased to 10.4 million (-659,000) on the last business day of August.
- Health care and social assistance saw the biggest drop at 224,000 followed by accommodation & food services (-178,000) and state & local government education (-124,000).
NOTE: The number and rate of hires decreased to 6.3 million (-439,000) and 4.3%, respectively.
The major evidence of a tight labor market is the continued rise of quits every month as employees get better offers from rival companies…
- Quits increased in August to 4.3 million (+242,000) and the rate increased to a series high of 2.9%.
- Food services saw the most quits at 157,000 followed by wholesale trade (+26,000) and state and local government education (+25,000).
NOTE: In a sign that we could see some cooling in housing, real estate and rental leasing saw the biggest decline in quits at 23,000.