US job vacancies remained stable at 7.3 million in July, corporate recruitment demand was still weak, and the June data was revised down 177,000

The Zhitong Finance App learned that the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released on Tuesday showed that the number of job vacancies in the US remained stable in July, and there were no significant changes in recruitment, separation, or layoff activities, indicating that the overall US labor market is still relatively stable, but corporate recruitment demand is still weak.

According to the data, the number of job vacancies in the US in July was 7.3 million, and the job vacancy rate remained at 4.4%. The number of recruits during the same period was 5.1 million, with a recruitment rate of 3.2%; the total number of separations was also 5.1 million, with a total turnover rate of 3.2%.

It is worth noting that the US Bureau of Labor Statistics also drastically lowered the June job vacancy data, which was lowered by 177,000 to 7.2 million from the previously announced level, indicating that the labor demand of US companies was actually weaker than initially estimated.

Specifically, the number of job vacancies in the US in July was basically the same as 7.3 million, and the job vacancy rate was 4.4%. From an industry perspective, the number of job vacancies in the durable goods manufacturing industry increased by 76,000, making it an obvious growth area during the month.

The number of job vacancies is often viewed as an important measure of a company's labor needs. Although overall job vacancies did not drop significantly in July, US companies' demand for new employees has clearly cooled down compared to the period of extreme labor market tension after the COVID-19 pandemic.

Meanwhile, the June job vacancy data was revised down from 177,000 to 7.2 million, further showing that corporate employment demand was not as strong as shown in previous data.

There has also been no significant improvement in the company's actual recruitment activities. The number of people recruited in the US in July was 5.1 million, and the recruitment rate was 3.2%. Overall, there was little change from the previous month.

Among them, the number of recruiters in the professional and commercial services industry decreased by 88,000, making it one of the industries with the most obvious decline in recruitment activity during the month.

The recruitment activities of large companies have also cooled down. According to the data, the recruitment rate of companies with 5,000 or more employees declined in July, while the job vacancy rate, active turnover rate, layoff rate, and overall turnover rate of these large enterprises remained largely unchanged.

In contrast, small businesses with 1 to 9 employees saw a decline in layoffs and layoffs, while their vacancies, recruitment, voluntary turnover, and overall turnover rates remained generally stable.

The number of active separations in the US in July was 3.1 million. The active turnover rate remained at 1.9%, with little change from the previous month. Among them, the number of active separations in other service industries decreased by 46,000.

The active turnover rate is one of the important indicators for observing confidence in the US labor market. Normally, when employment opportunities are plentiful and companies compete for labor, employees are more confident to voluntarily resign to find jobs with higher pay or better conditions; conversely, when the labor market cools down, employees are more likely to stay in their current jobs.

As a result, the number of active separations and the turnover rate have remained relatively stable, which also shows that the current US labor market has not experienced a significant acceleration in labor mobility again.

At the same time, there has been no significant increase in US corporate layoffs. The number of layoffs and layoffs in July was 1.7 million, and the layoffs and layoffs remained at 1.0%. Among them, the number of layoffs and layoffs in the finance and insurance industry decreased by 22,000.

Furthermore, the number of other separations, including factors such as retirement, death, disability, and the transfer of employees to other regions of the same company, remained largely unchanged at 350,000.

Overall, the July JOLTS data showed obvious “low mobility” characteristics, that is, the company did not significantly increase recruitment, but there were no large-scale layoffs; there was also no significant increase in employees' willingness to take the initiative to change jobs.

Job vacancies were lowered by 177,000 in June, and recruitment and separation data were lowered simultaneously

In this report, the revision of the June data is also worth paying attention to. The US Bureau of Labor Statistics cut the number of job vacancies in June from 177,000 to 7.2 million; the number of recruiters was lowered by 16,000 to 5.3 million; and the total number of separations was lowered by 14,000 to 5.3 million. Among them, the number of people who voluntarily left their jobs in June was lowered by 19,000 to 3.2 million, while the number of layoffs and layoffs increased by 19,000 to 1.8 million.

The US Bureau of Labor Statistics said that these monthly revisions mainly come from new survey reports submitted by companies and government agencies, as well as recalculation of seasonal adjustment factors.

Overall, the July JOLTS report shows that the US labor market has shown no obvious signs of deterioration, and the level of layoffs is still stable, but corporate recruitment activities also lack significant momentum for expansion. The number of job vacancies remained at 7.3 million, and the number of recruiters remained at 5.1 million, while the active turnover rate was only 1.9%, reflecting a relatively stable but low mobility of the labor market as a whole.

Meanwhile, the number of job vacancies was downgraded to 7.2 million in June, further strengthening the signal that US companies' demand for employment has cooled significantly from the previous peak. At a time when the market is closely watching the Federal Reserve's next policy direction, whether labor demand can continue to be stable and whether employment growth will slow further in the future will be an important basis for investors to judge the US economy and interest rate prospects.