These reports were always a little suspect; they are surveys that may or may not have a high degree of precision. And after the shutdown you wonder if there are still data collection issues. In any event, the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey results were issued today for November of 2025. Given the size of the US labor force, most of the reported month to month changes are not particularly meaningful, in my view. Today’s report says that job openings are at about 7.1 million, which is likely exaggerated as companies post jobs they don’t really intend to hire. The total is down from October, but more importantly, was down about 885,000 year-over-year. And we have returned to there being more unemployed persons than job openings, although a lot of the people who claim to be looking for work are as fictitious as some of the job openings. Openings declined in food services, accomodations, wholesale trade, utilities and transportation and increased in construction.
Hires were also down somewhat, as were separations. Hires decreased in state and local education but rose at the federal government. Voluntary separations, or quits, were up which may signal that the quitters think it is easier to find another job. Hotel and food services, which typically experience high turnover, saw a high number of voluntary job-leaving. For October, openings were revised down and hires were revised up by about the same amount. All in all, I would say there is no evidence of any significant trend changes in hiring or firing or quiting. Just sort of chugging along. (BLS Release)
