U.S. Job Openings Fell in August for First Time in Four Months

(Bloomberg) -- U.S. job openings declined in August for the first time in four months, pointing to a moderation in pace of hiring as the pandemic drags on.

The number of available positions slipped to 6.49 million during the month from an upwardly revised 6.7 million in July, according to the Labor Department's Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey, or JOLTS, released Tuesday. A Bloomberg survey of economists called for an decrease to 6.5 million. Openings that involve workers recalled from layoffs or positions that are only offered internally are not counted in the figure.

The number of hires increased while total separations declined.

“While labor demand held up more than we may have expected early in the recovery, that pace is not guaranteed to continue,” Nick Bunker, economic research director at Indeed Inc., said in a note. “The good news is that layoffs and discharges hit a historic low in August. For a recession and recovery characterized by lots of churn, this is remarkable, to say the least.”

The decrease in job vacancies points to some tempering in the rate of hiring. Many businesses that received Paycheck Protection Program funding are nearing the end of the 24-week spending period, and the passage of additional federal aid remains unclear, which could increase business uncertainty in the coming months and hold back hiring.

Competition among those looking for work remains elevated with a little more than 13.6 million Americans jobless in August, leaving more than two unemployed workers vying for every job opening. That stands in stark contrast to a two-year trend in which job vacancies exceeded the number of unemployed.

The decrease in job openings was driven by fewer vacancies in the construction, retail and health care industries. Vacancies increased in manufacturing, food service and government.

The number of hires, which includes rehired employees, improved slightly to 5.92 million, keeping the hires rate at 4.2%. Federal government hiring jumped almost 250,000 during the month, largely because of efforts to conduct the 2020 census. The September jobs report issued last week, however, showed a decline in government payrolls as the canvassing began to wind down.

Separations, which include layoffs and quits, dipped to 4.59 million in August, reflecting decreases in the number of job cuts as well as people voluntarily leaving their jobs. The number of quits declined to 2.79 million from 2.93 million a month earlier. The quits rate decreased to 2%, while the rate of layoffs and discharges dropped to 1% in August from 1.3%.

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