The key takeaway from the June Jobs Report and the May Job Opening and Turnover survey is that, despite the circulating recession fears, we have had a steady job growth matching the average over the last several months. While there might be a dip in the number of open positions, there are still nearly two jobs available for every unemployed person. Some industries have indicated that they will slow down their hiring, while others are still desperate for new staff. It remains a job-seekers market.
May's Job Opening and Turnover Survey
The number of job openings pulled back slightly to 11.3 million, a loss of 427,000. Compared to the unemployment rate of 5.9 million, there are 1.9 jobs available for each unemployed person.
Professional and Business Services (-325,000), Durable Goods Manufacturing (-138,000), and Nondurable Goods Manufacturing (-70,000) saw the biggest decreases in job openings.
Hires did decrease in the finance and insurance sector by 40,000. Real estate, Rental and Leasing, and State and Local Government Education reduced the number of separations. Quits also dropped for these two sectors along with Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation. Both Wholesale trade and the Federal government had an increase in layoffs.
The quit rate dropped to 4.3 million in June, indicating that employees still take advantage of the worker shortage to seek new positions with greater benefits, though we see clear signs that this is starting to slow.
June Jobs Report
June's report again showed better than expected gains, adding 372,000 to the non-farm payrolls. The unemployment rate was little changed at 5.9 million/ 3.6%. The unemployment rate has held steady at 3.6% for the last four months.
June showed a slight increase in the number of people whose jobs or hours were affected by Covid (2.1 million) and the number of people for whom Covid prevented them from looking for work (610,000). There was a small drop in the labor force participation rate (62.2%) and the employment to population ratio (59.9%). Long-term unemployment dropped to 1.3 million.
June showed a continued decrease in the number of people who work from home, dropping to 7.1%. Hourly wages rose again by $0.10.
Conclusion
While some industries are slowing their hiring and even shedding positions, the demand for workers remains high for many. With more job openings than unemployed people, the balance of power in the job marketplace will stay in the hands of the job seekers.
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Resources:
https://www.bls.gov/news.release/empsit.nr0.htm
https://www.bls.gov/news.release/empsit.nr0.htm
