1 November 2023
September’s JOLTS report showed a slight rise in job openings by 56,000 to 9.553 million, slightly above expectations but with significant revisions to prior data. Despite higher job openings, hires increased marginally, and quits remained stable, not reflecting the optimism of previous months. The report’s credibility is questioned due to a record low response rate of 31%, suggesting that most job opening data is estimated. The market largely ignored the JOLTS data, influenced more by other negative labor market indicators.