Job openings stay close to lowest level since 2021

The number of open jobs in the economy stayed pretty flat in November, near a 2 1/2-year low reached in October and consistent with a broader downward trend in the number of available jobs.

Openings fell to 8.79 million from 8.85 million in October, while new hires dipped to 5.47 million from 5.83 million, the Labor Department reported Wednesday in its monthly Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS). 

The latest numbers hold the ratio of open jobs to job seekers even at about 1.4-to-1, which is down significantly from its post-pandemic peak of nearly two open jobs for every unemployed person.

The strength of the labor market has been a frequent source of surprise for economists during the recovery from the pandemic, but signs of cooling are becoming more noticeable.

Despite jaggedness in the curve of monthly job openings over the past two years, an overall downward slope has taken hold since openings peaked in March at more than 12 million.

As the job market has become less favorable to workers, who were able to switch jobs more comfortably following the pandemic, economists and market commentators have sounded notes of relief about the slowing pace of upside surprises.

“The demand for labor has cooled and the rate of people quitting their jobs has normalized. This makes the JOLTS data … a little less exciting. Less exciting is a good thing in this instance,” Nerd Wallet analyst Elizabeth Renter said in a statement. 

“Drama in the data can be a red flag, potentially pointing to continued inflationary pressures, for example. But this November data sounds no such alarms,” she added.

Oren Klachkin, an economist with insurance company Nationwide Financial, wrote in an analysis that Federal Reserve officials should be pleased with the slowing demand for workers, as indicated in the survey.

“Job openings were steady in November but stayed on a declining trend which alongside low involuntary separations are indicative of gradually cooling labor demand. Further, a lower quits signifies that workers aren’t in a rush anymore to pursue new opportunities,” he wrote.

The rate of workers quitting their jobs rate ticked down to 2.2 percent, slipping below its pre-pandemic average, Klachkin noted.

Job openings dipped by 128,000 in the transportation and warehousing sector, by 97,000 in leisure and hospitality, and by 78,000 in accommodation and food services.

Openings increased by 63,000 in wholesale trade, by 43,000 in construction, and by 42,000 in retail.