Job openings slip, quits rate hits record

Quits rate climbs to 2.9%

The number of job openings in the U.S. slipped off a record high in August as the quits rate increased to a record high. 

The total number of job openings fell by 659,000 to a seasonally adjusted 10.439 million at the end of August, according to the Labor Department’s Job Opening and Labor Turnover Survey, or JOLTS. The July reading was revised higher by 164,000 to 11.098 million.

Economists surveyed by Refinitiv were expecting 10.925 million available jobs. 

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Industries that saw the largest decrease in the number of job openings include health care and social assistance (-224,000), accommodation and food services (-178,000) and state and local government education (-124,000). Job openings increased in the federal government (+22,000). 

Meanwhile, hiring fell in accommodation and food services (-240,000) and in state and local government education (-160,000). 

This as the total number of quits rose by 242,000 to 4,3 million. The quits rate hit a record high 2.9%. 

Quits increased in accommodation and food services (+157,000), wholesale trade (+26,000) and state and local government education (+25,000). 

Total separations, which include quits, layoffs and discharges, and other separations were little changed at 6 million. 

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There have been 72.6 million hires and 66.7 million separations over the past 12 months, resulting in a net employment gain of 5.9 million.