Job openings flat in January after hitting record in December
By Sylvan Lane - 03/09/22 10:46 AM EST
Job openings stayed flat in January after reaching a record high in December, according to data released Wednesday by the Labor Department.
The number of job openings in January totaled 11.3 million, according to the January job openings and labor turnover (JOLTS) report, slightly less than the revised total of 11.4 million total open jobs reported in the previous month. The Labor Department revised December’s job openings up by 523,000, marking a new record.
Hires stayed roughly flat at 6.5 million and total separations ticked higher to 6.1 million in January. The percentage of U.S. employees who voluntarily left their jobs in December, also known as the quits rate, fell to 2.8 percent from a record high of 2.9 percent.
Layoffs also remained low, totaling just 1.4 million in January.
The January JOLTS report is the latest window into the labor market’s resilience amid a record-breaking surge of COVID-19. The U.S. added 481,000 jobs in January even as the omicron variant ripped through the country and businesses held off on layoffs after months of labor shortages.
DEVELOPING
https://thehill.com/policy/finance/597502-job-openings-flat-in-january-after-hitting-record-in-december
