Key Points:
- The number of available jobs since May 2021 continues to outnumber Americans looking for work.
- The tight labor market has pushed total job openings to nearly double the available workers this year, but hiring has slowed amid a broader economic slowdown.
- Job openings fell by 1.1 million to 10.1 million in August, down from the revised 11.17 million in July, and down from the record high 11.9 million in March.
- The largest decreases in job openings were in health care and social assistance (-236,000), other services (-183,000), and retail trade (-143,000).
- The U.S. added 315,000 jobs in August but there were 6.0 million people unemployed.
- In August, the number of hires was little changed again at 6.3 million and the number of separations were little changed at 6.0 million.
- Within separations, the number of quits were little changed at 4.2 million – still near the record high of 4.4 million – and layoffs and discharges were little changed at 1.5 million.
- The labor force participation rate increased by 0.3% over the month to 62.4% in August but is 1.0% below its February 2020 level.
- The Right Facts will continue to monitor unemployment and job openings.