The number of job openings rose in September, partly offsetting the large decline in August, according to the JOLTS report out today. But make no mistake: the labor market is cooling. The job openings figure can be volatile, but the less volatile number of hires fell from 6.3 million to 6.1 million, and the number of quits slid from 4.2 million to 4.1 million.
Job openings remained strong—and, in fact, reached new all-time record highs—in health care, and in major enterprises (companies with 5,000+ employees). But elsewhere, the labor market is gradually cooling and returning to normal. And some industries, notably finance and insurance, the labor market is already in a deep freeze.
Notable findings:
- Health care job openings rose to a new record high. The large drop in openings reported in August was largely driven by a decline in health care openings, which was clearly just a statistical anomaly. No decline was apparent in online job posting data. And today’s report shows health care openings rising to new heights.
- Job openings in major enterprise companies are also at a record high. By contrast, midsize companies posted sharp declines in the number of openings and quits.
- Job openings have declined for two straight months in finance and insurance. High interest rates are taking a toll on hiring at mortgage lending companies, stock brokerages, and banks. The pandemic unleashed a mortgage refinancing boom and a retail stock trading boom that have since gone into reverse. Openings in the sector have fallen 22.9% since August, and 40.9% since July.
