Low Hiring and Quit Rates Show Labor Sector Weakness

The latest Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) showed that job openings fell to 7.7 million in July, well below estimates, as June’s report was also revised lower. The level of job openings continues to moderate and is down almost 13% from July of last year. The hiring rate rose to 3.5%, which is still near the lowest level since 2013 not including COVID. The quit rate is also low at 2.1%, suggesting there is less poaching from other companies and fewer people feel confident about finding new employment.

What’s the bottom line? We continue to see more weakness in the labor market, with low hiring and a low number of people quitting their jobs. This was also reflected in the latest Job Cuts report from Challenger, Gray & Christmas, which showed that hiring announcements fell to their lowest year-to-date level since Challenger began tracking the metric in 2005.