JOB OPENINGS FELL IN OCTOBER

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 353,000 to 10.3 million in October after rising in September, and remains far below the record high 11.9 million in March.
  • The number of job openings decreased in state and local government (-101,000), nondurable goods manufacturing (+-95,000), and federal government (-61,000).
  • The number of job openings increased in other services (+76,000) and in finance and insurance (+70,000).
  • The U.S. added 261,000 jobs in October but there were 6 million people unemployed.
  • In October, the number of hires edged down to 6.0 million and the number of separations changed little at 5.7 million.
  • Within separations, the number of quits were little changed at 4.0 million – still near the record high of 4.4 million – and layoffs and discharges rose to 1.4 million.
  • The labor force participation rate decreased over the month to 62.2% in October and is 1.2% below its February 2020 level.
  • The Right Facts will continue to monitor unemployment and job openings.