Employers continued to cut the number of jobs they were hiring in August, but to a lesser extent, further exacerbating conditions in the labor market where there is still a shortage of available workers.
About 10.1 million positions were open at the end of the summer, down from 11.2 million in July. Department of Labor reported Tuesday. Still, he remains 1.7 unemployed for each available job, the highest percentage ever.
The vacancy rate, which is calculated by dividing the number of job openings by the sum of jobs and open vacancies, fell to 6.2% from the revised 6.8% in July. The numbers and percentages of hires and turnovers remained relatively flat.
Federal Reserve officials theorize that higher interest rates will simply cool the economy by reducing additional demand for workers, rather than encouraging employers to cut jobs. So far it’s happening, but very slowly.
“Our view is really skewed,” said Diane Swonk, chief economist at accounting firm KPMG. not.”
Swonk referred to data released by job-hunting website Indeed. always high The number of new job openings despite flat demand for workers, especially in retail.
“They’re off the peak, but they’re still leveling off at high levels,” Swonk said.
The rate of people leaving their jobs is also an indicator of workers’ confidence that job opportunities are plentiful. About 4.2 million people notified in August, slightly more than the previous month. As a result, his turnover rate (number of people who voluntarily leave the company divided by total employment) is just below his all-time high of 3% at the end of last year.
One of the biggest drops in openings occurred in the financial sector, where rental and leasing activity openings increased but mortgage brokers lost their jobs as rising interest rates held back the housing market. .As a company, the number of retail store openings has also decreased. Get ready for a milder holiday season.
Despite a slowdown in job postings, companies have continued to secure workers.After a slight rise in the first half of the year, initial claims for unemployment downward trend Since midsummer, employers have been trying to fully staff. A release by the Labor Department on Tuesday said layoffs rose slightly to 1.5 million he had in August, but remained below the historical average.
“Simply put, companies cut labor costs more than they should during the pandemic, returning staffing levels to pre-Covid-19 levels,” said Bob Schwartz, senior economist at Oxford Economics. I am struggling with this,” he wrote. week.