The Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) is out, and the labor market is still as attractive as ever for job seekers. On the last business day of September 2019, there was little change from the month prior, with a total of 7.0 million job openings. Also, the number of total hires had a slight bump up to 5.9 million throughout the month. The quit rate held steady at 2.3 percent, which illustrates the confidence of job seekers to leave their jobs to find more fruitful opportunities.
Here is a breakdown of the latest November 2019 JOLTS Report.
November JOLTS Report
- Job Openings: 7.0 million
- Hires: 5.9 million
- Separations: 5.8 million
- Voluntary: 3.5 million
- Involuntary: 2.0
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The job market remains resilient
If you compare last month’s JOLTS Report to today’s, there are two important things to note:
- The number of hires edged up
- The number of separations bumped up
When looking at these two figures together, it’s clear that job seekers are becoming more and more confident in today’s labor market. More people are getting hired, yet more people are voluntarily leaving their jobs to seek out new opportunities. When pairing this with the current unemployment rate of 3.6 percent, the outlook for the labor market is strong as we head closer to 2020.
Furthermore, the number of job openings (7.0 million) is still well above the number of those seeking employment (5.8 million). The net change in employment continued to look attractive. Over the last 12 months (ending in September 2019), there was a total of 69.9 million hires and 67.4 million separations. That is an enticing net employment gain of 2.5 million. And with the BLS reporting last Friday a surprisingly strong revision in job additions from the prior two months (+95,000 jobs) than previously reported, the labor market is looking great for job seekers (and spooky for employers)!
How will you obtain the talent you need?
In this tight market, having an efficient hiring process is critical. If your process is too slow or has too many hoops to jump through, it may be time to make some changes to improve the process for your candidates. If your team is struggling to do so, have you thought about enlisting some help from a recruiter? At JSG, we have a dedicated team of recruiters with decades of industry experience. Let’s work together to source the talent your team needs to end the year on a strong note. Contact us today!
