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 410,000 to 10.8 million in January after rising to 11.23 million in December.
- The number of job openings decreased in construction (-240,000), accommodation and food services (-204,000), and finance and insurance (-100,000).
- The U.S. added 517,000 jobs in January but there were 5.69 million people unemployed.
- In January, the number of hires and separations were little changed at 6.4 million and 5.9 million respectively.
- Within separations, the number of quits decreased to 3.9 million – still near the record high of 4.4 million – and layoffs and discharges rose again to 1.7 million.
- The labor force participation rate decreased over the month to 62.4% in January and is 0.9% below its February 2020 level.
- The Right Facts will continue to monitor unemployment and job openings.