Time to worry? U.S. job openings dropped by 1 million, and that was before the coronavirus spread
By Mitchell Schnurman
5:00 AM on Feb 23, 2020
Some cracks are emerging in America’s long-running growth story — or at least some warning signs.
While job creation has continued at an impressive pace, the number of openings has fallen sharply, according to government data released recently. In December, job openings in the private sector fell by 1.1 million, a decline of over 16%. That’s the steepest downturn since 2009, when the country was still reeling from the Great Recession.
“Any economic comparisons to 2009 tend to be concerning,” said Daniel Zhao, senior economist and data scientist at Glassdoor, one of the world’s largest job sites. “This is a sign the labor market is slowing down.”
Many key indicators are still strong, including the latest jobs report. In January, the U.S. added 225,000 nonfarm jobs, far surpassing economists’ expectations. Zhao also noted that total job openings are high by historical standards, topping 5.7 million in December. And openings still exceed the number of unemployed people, a reflection of how tight the labor market remains for many employers.
The unemployment rate is near a 50-year low, too. But that’s a lagging indicator, turning up only after people start to lose jobs. In contrast, job openings are forward-looking, offering insight into where trends may be heading.
Employers can add openings or pull them quickly, based on what they’re seeing in real time, Zhao said.
“They can’t hire or fire nearly as fast,” he said.
December’s big drop wasn’t a one-off. Job openings began falling in mid-2019 and accelerated through the end of the year, hitting double-digit declines in November and December.
More: https://www.dallasnews.com/business/jobs/2020/02/23/time-to-worry-us-job-openings-dropped-by-1-million-and-that-was-before-the-coronavirus-spread/
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