Job vacancies dwindled as 2020 approached, and the greatest success came to the battered hospitality industry as the Covid pandemic escalated.
The total number of open positions fell by 105,000 in November, a fall of 1.6% compared to October and a fall of 3.9% over the previous year, according to the job opening survey and Department of Labor workload published this Tuesday.
Leisure and hospitality were particularly hard hit, with falling job offers and a sharp rise in layoffs and general separations.
Although the report runs a month behind the department’s non-farm payroll count, policymakers are watching the JOLTS count for signs of tension in the labor market.
In total, there were 6.63 million openings a month, compared to the 10.74 million workers the government considers unemployed. Net payroll earnings of 336,000 remained relatively fast during the month, although growth ended in December with a decline of 140,000.
The JOLTS report indicated that the slowdown in vacancies occurred mainly in the hospitality industry, where bars, restaurants, hotels and casinos have been successful in the economic constraints officials have imposed to combat Covid. Case counts have continued to rise despite blockages and other restrictions.
Leisure and hospitality openings fell to 801,000 for the month, down only 16,000 from October, but down 17% from the same period in 2020.
At the same time, layoffs rose sharply, rising 17.6% from October to 1.68 million.
The rate of layoffs rose during the month as 271,000 workers lost or left their jobs, up 3.8% from 3.6% in October. The increase was mainly due to the leisure and hospitality rate, which rose to 8.2% from 5.8%. The rate is calculated by dividing the number of separations by total employment and multiplying it by 100.
Monthly, the largest declines in job openings occurred in the manufacture of durable goods (-48,000), information (-45,000) and educational services (-21,000).
The dropout rate, an indicator of workers ’confidence in finding new jobs, changed little during the month, at 2.2%. However, leisure and hospitality experienced a sharp increase in this metric, which rose from 4.3% to 4.7% as industry workers in transition to other professions. Within the industry, accommodation and food services rose to 5%, from 4.5% in October.
Recruitments in general varied little during the month at a rate of 4.2%. Again, leisure and hospitality experienced a sharp drop, from 7.8% to 7.3% at the lowest total level since August.