US job openings jump in December

Labour demand in the States remained high at the end of 2022, a very closely followed survey showed.

According to the US Department of Labor, in seasonally adjusted terms, the number of job openings jumped at a month-on-month pace of 5.5% in December to reach approximately 11.01m (Barclays Research: 10.3m).

In December of 2021 job openings were running at 11.448m.

Hiring however was more restrained, rising by 2.2% to 6.17m while the number of separations increased by 1.0% to 5.89m.

Within the latter, the number of voluntary separations, or so-called 'quits' dipped by 0.4% to 4087m.

That left the quits rate unchanged from the month before at 2.7%.

Quits are considered a good proxy for workers' confidence in their ability to find alternate employment and therefore of labour market tightness of laxness.

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