The Bureau of Labor Statistics said that manufacturing job openings declined from 274,000 in February to 260,000 in March, according to the latest Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) report. The number of job postings has stayed by 300,000 since July 2012, staying within a narrow range of 240,000 to 275,000 since then. If there is a longer-term trend, it is that the number of job openings in manufacturing appears to have stalled after topping out at 324,000 in March 2012.

This is also consistent with what we are seeing in the net hiring data, which turned negative again in March for manufacturers for the first time since September 2012. Manufacturers hired 200,000 workers in March, the slowest pace in almost 4 years. This is down from 231,000 in February. Meanwhile, total separations – which include layoffs, quits, and retirements – declined from 225,000 to 205,000 for the month. On the positive side, the separations rate is at an all-time low in the JOLTS data’s 13-year history. Nonetheless, net hiring (or hiring minus separations) was -5,000 in March, down from +6,000 in February, reflecting significant weaknesses in the manufacturing sector.

Looking at the larger macroeconomy, there was some easing for job openings and hiring between February and March, but net hiring was still positive. The number of job postings declined from 3,899,000 to 3,844,000, with both figures representing 2.8 percent of total employment. Net hiring was 46,000, down from 271,000 the month before. The greatest monthly gains in hiring in March occurred primarily in the service sector, primarily from professional and business services (up 24,000) and education and health services (up 16,000).

Chad Moutray is chief economist, National Association of Manufacturers.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics said that manufacturing job openings were up slightly, rising from 253,000 in January to 259,000 in February. This brings the job postings figure back to where it was in February 2012; although, there was a pickup in openings and then more tepid growth in the second half of 2012 and continuing into 2013. The high for job postings in the manufacturing sector last year was in March 2012 with 324,000 openings.

Meanwhile, net hiring has also been soft recently. In February, manufacturers hired an additional 228,000 workers, up from 219,000 in January. As noted last month, January’s hiring rate was the slowest observed since June 2009, suggesting a high degree of skittishness to bring new workers on in the sector. At the same time, manufacturing separations also rose, up from 215,000 to 223,000. Separations include layoffs, quits, and retirements.

There was net hiring, therefore, of 5,000 manufacturing workers in the month of February, only marginally higher than the 4,000-worker pace of January. Over the past four months, net hiring has stayed in the 4,000 to 5,000 range. This is well below where we would want manufacturing hiring to be. The average monthly gain in net manufacturing employment was 16,583 in 2011 and 12,750 in 2012, for instance.

The news for the larger economy was better. Net hiring increased from 125,000 in January to 216,000 in February. In addition, job postings rose from 3,611,000 to 3,925,000. This was the most job openings since May 2008, representing 2.8 percent of total employment.

Chad Moutray is chief economist, National Association of Manufacturers.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics said that manufacturing job openings edged slightly higher, up from 242,000 in December to 245,000 in January. However, this remains below the 271,000 level observed in November and the 255,000 pace seen in January 2012. It is clear that there was a deceleration in job postings in the second half of 2012, which has continued moving into the new year.

Meanwhile, net hiring is also a persistent challenge. Manufacturers hired an additional 212,000 workers in January, down from 236,000 in December. This is the slowest pace since June 2009, representing significant skittishness on the part of manufacturers to bring on new workers to begin 2013. At the same time, manufacturing separations decreased from 231,000 to 217,000 for the month. Net hiring, therefore, shifted from a gain of 5,000 new workers in December to a net separation of 5,000 in January. This is the first decrease in net hiring since September.

Looking at the larger economy, net hiring increased from 133,000 to 145,000 between December and January. Job postings and hiring rose, albeit modestly. The rate of hiring as a percentage of the labor market was unchanged at 3.1 percent.

Note that the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) data provide additional information beyond what we already knew about the labor market from the monthly jobs numbers, with a one-month time lag. Last week, we learned that manufacturers hired an additional 14,000 net new workers in February, suggesting that the next JOLTS report might be more positive.

Chad Moutray is chief economist, National Association of Manufacturers.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that manufacturing job openings declined from 281,000 in November to 259,000 in December. This finding was consistent with other indicators suggesting that uncertainty related to the fiscal cliff and slowing sales was causing businesses to pull back at year’s end. Indeed, total job postings fell from 3,790,000 in November to 3,617,000 in December. The declines were in most major sectors except for construction and arts, entertainment, and recreation.

With that said, the news was not all bad. Manufacturers did pick up their pace of hiring for the month, up from 241,000 to 251,000. There were signs of higher levels of activity for some manufacturers in November and December (some of it due to Hurricane Sandy), which might explain this increase. Nonetheless, it is important to keep December’s hiring rate in perspective. There were 270,000 hires in June (the high point in 2012), and we ended the year more or less where we began it (with 253,000 hires in January 2012). Essentially, manufacturing employment growth was flat in 2012.

Still, net manufacturing hiring in December was 35,000, up from 4,000 in November. This was due to a sharp decline in manufacturing separations (e.g., layoff, separations, and retirements). Separations decreased from 237,000 in November to 216,000 in December.

Chad Moutray is chief economist, National Association of Manufacturers.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported a rebound in manufacturing job postings and hires in October, recovering from the weaker data in August and September. The latest Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) numbers suggest that employment activity rose between September and October – something that we saw in the overall jobs numbers for October, as well. However the November jobs numbers turned negative again, with 7,000 fewer manufacturing workers. This was attributed to the impacts from the fiscal cliff and Hurricane Sandy. 

Digging deeper into the October data, the number of job openings in the manufacturing sector rose from 241,000 in September to 279,000 in October. While still lower than the 297,000 observed in May, it represents a healthy increase from the month before, bringing it just above the average for the year so far (274,200). It could also indicate increased hiring in future months assuming that these postings translate into actual hires at some point.

Net hiring also improved in October, returning to a positive number. There was a net increase of 18,000 manufacturing workers for the month, which was better than the unchanged result in September and loss of 20,000 employees in August. Manufacturers hired 252,000 workers in October, up from 235,000 in September. Meanwhile, separations in the sector were down marginally from 235,000 to 234,000 for the month.

In the larger economy, the story was essentially the same. Total job openings rose from 3,547,000 in September to 3,675,000 in October. These increases were seen in every major industry except for education and health care. The pace of hiring and separations also rose, with net hiring of 255,000 in October. 

These data provide some positive news, but give us room to be cautious as well. The fact that hiring and job postings improved in October was a good sign, with a rebound on the sharp drops of August and September. At the same time, it is important to note that the JOLTS data are released with a time lag. We know that manufacturing hiring stalled once again in November and is expected to remain weak in December and perhaps beyond.

In addition, it is also clear that net hiring has yet to move beyond the narrow band that it has operated in for much of the past three years, and it would take much larger improvements to be able to bring the unemployment rate down in any material way.    

Chad Moutray is chief economist, National Association of Manufacturers.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) said that the number of manufacturing job openings dropped from 273,000 in July to 255,000 in August. This is its lowest level since December 2011, with job postings declining for three straight months.

The other big headline for the manufacturing sector is that net hiring has turned negative. For those who follow the more widely-cited employment report from BLS, this is not news, with fewer manufacturing workers in both the August and September jobs numbers. In August, manufacturers hired 233,000 workers, down from 244,000 in July. This hiring level is the lowest seen since June 2009. At the same time, separations – which include layoffs, quits, and retirements – rose from 228,000 to 248,000. This suggests net separations of 15,000 workers in August, a reversal of the net hiring of 16,000 observed in July.

The news was less severe for the larger economy. Total job openings declined from 3,593,000 in July to 3,561,000 in August. Both figures represent 2.6 percent of the total workforce, suggesting little change in the number of job postings (even with the slight decrease). Hiring picked up overall, with increases seen in the professional business services, education and healthcare, accommodation and food services, retail trade, and government sectors. These were somewhat offset by declines in construction, manufacturing, and arts, entertainment, and recreation. Net hiring remained positive, but declined for the month from 190,000 to 36,000. (continue reading…)

The Bureau of Labor Statistics said that the number of manufacturing job openings dropped from 296,000 in June to 271,000 in July. The figure for June was also revised lower, down from its original estimate of 312,000. This suggests that manufacturers have slowed their rate of posting new positions, even as the number of openings continues to exceed actual hiring.

Manufacturing hiring and separations were also lower. Hirings declined from 270,000 to 243,000; while, separations – which include layoffs, quits, and retirements – fell from 263,000 to 226,000. Despite lower figures for both, these data do suggest net hiring on the part of manufacturers of 17,000 in July, up from 7,000 in June. The job market among manufacturers has softened over the course of the year, as net hiring was 36,000 in January – the fastest rate of 2012 so far.

These trends were true of the larger economy, as well. Total job openings were down from 3,722,000 in June to 3,664,000 in July, with hiring and separations also lower. Hiring levels increased in the construction, education, government leisure and hospitality, and retail trade sectors. But, these were more than offset by declines in manufacturing and professional and business services.

Chad Moutray is chief economist, National Association of Manufacturers.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics has said that manufacturing job openings rose significantly, up from 259,000 in April to 310,000 in May. This is according to the latest Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) data. Essentially, job postings have returned to where they stood in March. The higher level suggests that manufacturers could increase their net hiring in coming months, which is a positive sign.

With that said, current hiring levels were essentially flat, down from 260,000 to 258,000 for the month. This is 2.2 percent of the total manufacturing workforce, a rate that has been the same since February. Meanwhile, manufacturing separations – which include layoffs, retirements, and quits – were up slightly from 239,000 to 241,000, or 2 percent of the manufacturing workforce. This suggests net hiring of 17,000 for May, which is down from 21,000 in April.

Numbers for the overall economy mirrored those of the manufacturing sector. The number of job openings rose from 3,477,000 to 3,642,000. (Of potential interest: some of this jump could be related to seasonal adjustments, as the non-seasonally adjusted data was slightly lower for the month.) Hiring and separations were also higher, but net hiring was lower in May than in April.

These numbers show a labor market that has weakened considerably in recent months, and yet, the higher job openings figure suggests some degree of cautious optimism looking forward. The key will be how many of these postings will translate into actual jobs. This will hinge on a growing economy and increased production levels, or stated differently, manufacturers will pick up hiring again once current uncertainties about economic growth are eased.

Chad Moutray is chief economist, National Association of Manufacturers.

New Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics show that manufacturing hiring increased slightly in February. There were 259,000 hires and 236,000 separations in the month. This suggests net hiring of 23,000 workers in February, a drop-off from January’s net increase of 36,000 due mainly to increased separations activity.

In terms of job postings – an indicator of possible future hiring – manufacturers posted 253,000 new job openings in February, down from 261,000 the previous month.

For the overall economy, the number of job openings rose from 3,477,000 in January to 3,498,000 in February. This represents 2.6 percent of total employment, which has been roughly unchanged for the past three months. Both hirings and separations also rose, with 4,385,000 net new hires and 4,092,000 net new separations.

Of course, it should be noted that these labor turnover data have been somewhat supplanted by more recent jobs data which was released on Friday. Manufacturers added 37,000 net new jobs in March, or 148,000 in the past four months. As such, manufacturing has been a bright spot, especially as the larger nonfarm payroll growth in March was largely disappointing.

Chad Moutray is chief economist, National Association of Manufacturers.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) observed a higher number of job openings in January in the manufacturing sector, according to new Job Openings and Labor Turnover (JOLTS) data. Manufacturers posted 285,000 new jobs in January, up from 252,000 in December. The bulk of this increase occurred in durable goods industries, with nondurable goods manufacturers’ also upping their job postings slightly.

This is obviously a positive sign of future hiring intentions, but it contrasts somewhat with actual hiring activity in January. Both net hiring and net separations figures dropped in the month. The number of manufacturing hires fell from 269,000 in December to 246,000 in January. December’s figure appears to indicate a rush of hiring before the end of the year, which was not sustained in January. Likewise, separations for the industry dropped from 239,000 to 213,000. These numbers suggest net hiring of 33,000 in January.

Looking at the larger economy, job openings, hirings and separations were all lower in January than December. Growth in manufacturing job openings was one of the bright spots. There were 3,459,000 job openings in January, compared to 3,540,000 in December. Still, the longer-term job openings trend is a positive one, as there were 2,860,000 job openings overall in January 2011. This can also be seen in the attached graphic for the manufacturing sector.

Likewise, the overall job market has improved at the state level, as well. BLS also released state and regional employment information for January showing mostly lower unemployment rates and higher levels of nonfarm employment. The lowest unemployment rate in the U.S. is still in North Dakota at 3.2 percent, with Nevada having the highest at 12.7 percent. The largest monthly improvements in the unemployment rate were found in Mississippi (now 9.9 percent) and Missouri (now 7.5 percent), with each down 0.5 percentage points since December.

Looking at the manufacturing sector, the largest monthly gain occurred in Michigan, up 16,300 workers in January. This reflects recent gains in the motor vehicle sales. On a year-over-year basis, Michigan has added 31,800 manufacturing jobs since January 2011, the most of any state. Other states with large increases in manufacturing employment in the past year include Texas (up 25,900), Ohio (up 17,700), Indiana (up 16,900), Washington (up 16,400), Iowa (up 11,800), South Carolina (up 11,200) and Illinois (up 10,500). These gains speak largely to growth in durable goods production in many of these regions.

Chad Moutray is chief economist, National Association of Manufacturers.