Demand for workers in the U.S. remained historically elevated in November, with job openings holding near a record high amid the ongoing pandemic.
Vacancies totaled 10.562 million in November, according to the Labor Department's Job Openings and Labor Turnover Summary (JOLTS) released Tuesday.This comes is slightly lower than the 11.033 million in October, based on the government's first estimate for the month. Consensus economists were looking for job openings to rise to 11.079 million in November, according to Bloomberg data.
Tuesday's report extends a streak of elevated readings on job openings. Vacancies rose throughout early 2021 and reached a record high of 11.098 million in July, and have retreated only modestly since then.
And while the JOLTS report for November does not yet capture any meaningful impact from the Omicron variant discovered around Thanksgiving, some economists suggested labor shortages may be exacerbated at least in the near-term due to the latest surge.
"Looking ahead, the Omicron variant wave will likely lead to some short-term weakness in the labor market," Sam Bullard, senior economist for Wells Fargo, wrote in a note published earlier this week. "However, we believe this will be temporary and that the pace of hiring should pick back up by the spring."
The JOLTS data also adds to a slew of other reports pointing to the persistent tightness in the U.S. labor market. The last monthly jobs report from the Labor Department showed a disappointing 210,000 non-farm payrolls came back in the penultimate month of last year.The labor force participation rate remained depressed compared to pre-pandemic levels, and the civilian labor force was still down by about 2.4 million participants versus levels from February 2020. And according to the latest NFIB Small Business Optimism report,nearly half of surveyed owners said they had job openings that could not be filled in November. The December jobs report is slated to be released on Friday.
But while labor shortages have continued to strain employers seeking to fill positions, leverage among workers has increased. Average hourly earnings last rose at a 4.8% year-over-year clip in November, though this rise was dwarfed by the 6.8% jump in U.S. consumer prices during the same month,according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
And the Conference Board's consumer confidence survey last month showed a labor differential — or percentage of those saying jobs were "plentiful" less those saying jobs were "hard to get" — that was still elevated on a historical basis, suggesting workers were still finding it relatively easy to find jobs.