Job openings in U.S. rose in November, leading to more turnover

WASHINGTON – Job openings increased in November, giving more Americans the confidence to quit and find work at another employer.

The number of positions waiting to be filled rose by 82,000 to 5.43 million, from a revised 5.35 million in the prior month, a report from the Labor Department showed Tuesday. Hiring also climbed and the most people since April 2008 leave their jobs.

“Labor market fluidity is increasing,” said Thomas Costerg, a senior U.S. economist at Standard Chartered Bank in New York. “More people are taking risks. People are happy to put their necks out to look around and get a new job. There’s less slack to work through.”

Elevated vacancies and subdued dismissals represent robust demand for labor that may eventually lead to faster wage growth. The report, which includes some measures tracked by Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen, is in sync with the central bank’s view of progress in the job market.

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The median forecast in a Bloomberg survey projected 5.45 million openings after a previously reported 5.38 million the month before.

The Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey, or JOLTS, adds context to monthly payrolls data by measuring dynamics such as resignations, help-wanted ads and the pace of hiring. Although it lags the Labor Department’s other jobs figures by a month, Yellen follows the report as a measure of labor-market tightness and worker confidence.

By industry

The report showed job openings picked up at professional and business services, construction companies, restaurants and health-care providers, while manufacturers and retailers showed a decline.

The number of people hired rose to 5.2 million in November from 5.17 million the prior month. The hiring rate held at 3.6 percent. The gauge calculates the number of hires during the month divided by the number who worked or received pay during that period.

Some 2.83 million people quit their jobs in November, up from 2.78 million the prior month. The pickup reflected more departures in construction and at hotels and restaurants. The quits rate, which shows the willingness of workers to leave their jobs, was unchanged at 2 percent, where it was when the recession started at the end of 2007.

Dismissals decline

Total dismissals, which exclude retirements and those who left their job voluntarily, decreased to 1.69 million from 1.7 million a month before. There were about 1.5 unemployed people vying for every opening, compared with about 1.8 when the 18- month recession began.

In the 12 months ended in November, the economy created a net 2.6 million jobs, representing 61.2 million hires and 58.6 million separations.

The JOLTS data follows on the heels of the December payrolls report from the Labor Department, which showed job creation ended 2015 on a strong note while wages stagnated. The U.S. added 292,000 workers last month and payrolls for the previous two months were revised higher. The jobless rate held at 5 percent, a more than seven-year low. Average hourly earnings at private employers were unchanged from November.

Fed policy makers, who raised interest rates last month for the first time in almost a decade and signaled further moves would be gradual, are counting on tighter labor conditions to lead to a pickup in wages and inflation.

“Members agreed that a range of recent labor market indicators, including ongoing job gains and declining unemployment, showed further improvement and confirmed that underutilization of labor resources had diminished appreciably since early this year,” according to the minutes of the Fed meeting released on Jan. 6.

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