An increase in professional and business services led to the rise in openings last month.
By Tim Smart
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Jan. 4, 2023, at 10:49 a.m.
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U.S. News & World Report
Job Openings Tick Up to 10.5 Million
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SUNRISE, FLORIDA - JUNE 23: People attend the Mega Job Fair held at the FLA Live Arena on June 23, 2022 in Sunrise, Florida. The job fair had 8,000 jobs available from 100 different employers and expected approximately 3000 people to attend the fair. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
People attend the Mega Job Fair held at the FLA Live Arena, June 23, 2022, in Sunrise, Fla.(JOE RAEDLE/GETTY IMAGES)
The number of jobs available remains high, as openings increased slightly in November, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported on Wednesday.
[ MORE: Job Market Data Tops Economic News ]
An increase in professional and business services jobs drove the increase, to 10.5 million from 10.3 million in October. There were drops in finance and insurance, as well as within the federal government.
The number suggests that although layoffs have picked up in certain sectors, notably technology and real estate, the labor market continued to show strength at least toward the end of year. Some companies may be prioritizing a reduction in their outstanding job openings rather than opting for layoffs.
The report comes two days before the critical monthly jobs release from the Labor Department on Friday.
HR firm UKG says the beginning of 2023 is showing a weakening job market, especially for the number of shifts worked.
“While we are not expecting a negative net job loss in the BLS report, we are expecting a smaller number that may appear underwhelming, even disappointing, on its face,” the firm said in a release of its December data on Tuesday. “This is the result of uncertainty in the economy, including continued Fed interest rate hikes. There were noticeably larger declines in larger businesses. We believe this does affirm continuing layoffs/workforce reductions.”
[ MORE: Uncertainty Prevails for the Economy in 2023 ]
While a slowing economy will lead to some job losses, the imbalance between the supply of labor and demand from companies will likely remain due to demographic issues that have been building for a long time. These include the effects of COVID-19, the political stalemate over immigration and the aging of the population that has seen an increase in retirements among baby boomers.
“The people shortage is systemic, and it's fundamentally changing how businesses should prepare for economic slowdowns,” said Lightcast Senior Economist Ron Hetrick. “If the US does see some sort of recession in 2023, it will be less about persistent worker displacement and more about employers finally being able to fill the roles they've had open for the past several years.”
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Tags: employment, Bureau of Labor Statistics, economy
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