Labor Turnover Sees Sharp Drop in October

Michigan’s job openings rate declined in the latest release of the state Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS). The hires rate, separations rate, and labor turnover rate also fell over the same period. The unemployed persons to job openings ratio was the only measure to increase over the month, while the quits rate remained stagnant.

Job Openings Fall Marginally

Job openings in Michigan declined by approximately 4,000 from September (221,000) to October (217,000). This resulted in a marginal drop in the job openings rate, a measure of job openings as a percentage of employment, to 4.6 percent (-0.1 percentage point). Michigan’s rate was equal to the national rate in October and was recorded at 30th among other states.

The unemployed persons to job openings ratio increased to 1.08 in October. This ratio remained greater than one for the fourth consecutive month, indicating that Michigan has maintained more people available to work than job openings during this time. Michigan had the eighth highest ratio among states and was notably higher than the national ratio (0.90) in October.

Michigan's job openings rate fell to the same level as the national rate in October.

Source: Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

Number of Hires Drops Substantially

Hires declined significantly from September (205,000) to October (162,000). This resulted in Michigan’s hires rate, a measure of hires as a percentage of employment, falling to 3.6 percent (-1.0 percentage point). Notably, Michigan fell from the fifth highest hires rate among states to the 25th over this period yet remained above the national rate (3.3 percent).

Separations Inched Down

The separations rate, a measure of separations as a percentage of employment, decreased to 3.4 percent (-0.2 percentage points). Numerically, this was caused by a drop of approximately 8,000 in separations from September (161,000) to October (153,000).

The main driver of the decline in separations was the fall in one of its components, layoffs/discharges. This measure, which gauges involuntary separations, fell by 0.2 percentage points over the month to a layoffs/discharges rate of 1.1 percent. Quits, the other component of separations, were stagnant over the same period and caused the quits rate to remain at 2.2 percent for the second consecutive month.

Labor Turnover Sees a Steep Drop

Labor turnover experienced a steep decline in October as the turnover rate, a combination of hires and separations, fell to 7.0 percent (-1.1 percentage points). This fall came after Michigan’s labor turnover rate reached a two-year high in September. Michigan remained above the national turnover rate (6.6 percent) despite this drop and recorded the 30th highest turnover rate in October, a significant change from the ninth highest in the month prior.

The labor turnover rate dropped after reaching a two-year high in the previous month.

Source: Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics