11:12 a.m. ET, March 6, 2024
Americans don't quit their jobs quite as often
The days of carefree job hopping seem to be over.
In January, the layoff rate (number of layoffs as a percentage of total employment) was 2.1%, the lowest since August 2020, according to data released Wednesday by the Bureau of Labor Statistics as part of its monthly job updates and JOLTS. Report (Labour Turnover Survey).
In addition to the decline in voluntary layoffs, the report showed that hiring activity and the number of available jobs continued to decline from the record levels reached during the post-pandemic recovery. The number of layoffs also fell.
Still, job vacancies – a closely watched measure of labor demand – remain well above pre-pandemic averages, underscoring the continued strength of the labor market. There were an estimated 8.86 million job vacancies in January, compared to the upwardly revised 8.89 million in December.
The January total was exactly what economists expected. Economists predicted job openings would fall to 8.85 million, according to FactSet consensus estimates.
“Vacancies remain relatively high, and that is the key statistic not only in this data set but also for the economy,” Robert Frick, corporate economist at Navy Federal Credit Union, said in a statement. That means more paychecks and good spending. Currently, job vacancies appear to support a soft landing in the labor market, where monthly hires are between 100,000 and 200,000, a sustainable area for sustained expansion.”
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