The BLS released October results of the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey this morning showing a significant uptick in job openings.  Openings totaled 11.03 million in October, slightly below the record of 11.098 million from this past July.  Openings rose by 431K month over month which ranks as the biggest one-month uptick since July and is in the 94th percentile of all monthly moves.

While the JOLTS data is insightful, it is released at a decent lag. Job listings website Indeed, however, offers a higher frequency (daily) dataset with more up-to-date readings with the latest data available through November 26th.   As we discussed ahead of the JOLTS release in last night’s Closer, postings through this reading have been hitting new highs and are 57% above the February 2020 baseline reading.  That comes with acceleration in new postings being put up on the site throughout the fall, but especially so in recent weeks.

Indeed also offers a breakdown based on industry.  As shown below, there are four industries that currently have postings that are twice as high as they were pre-pandemic.  Ironically, given the fair degree of labor market slack, the human resources sector continues to top the list with postings almost 120% above the baseline level.  Loading & Stocks, Production & Manufacturing, and Software Development are the other most in-demand industries through late November.  The other end of the spectrum continues to include many reopening sensitive areas like Hospitality and Tourism (which has also been on the decline in recent weeks as shown in the next chart below), though, these too are now all above baseline levels.

As previously mentioned, Hospitality and Tourism have seen a decline in postings recently likely as a result of rising case counts. Noting a few other industries, Banking & Finance, Construction, Cleaning & Sanitation, and Food Preparation & Service have all seen an acceleration in postings.  Click here to view Bespoke’s premium membership options.