Job openings in August edged up slightly to 7.227 million, roughly in line with expectations. July’s figure was also revised modestly higher. Still, the overall trend is decisively downward – openings have dropped sharply from a peak of over 12 million in 2022.
Adding to the signs of labor market softness: the hiring rate (3.2%) and the quit rate (1.9%) remain near decade lows (excluding the pandemic). These figures suggest weaker demand for workers and reduced confidence among employees to voluntarily change jobs.
What’s the bottom line? Taken together, the data suggests the labor market is losing steam – and the true number of job opportunities may be overstated. Many remote roles are posted in multiple states, inflating the total number of unique listings.
Another indicator of cooling: the ratio of job openings to unemployed workers has dropped from over 2:1 in 2022 to just under 1:1– a significant shift toward a tighter job market.