What HR should know about the February JOLTS report

The Bureau of Labor Statistics’ (BLS) latest Job Openings and Labor Turnover Summary (JOLTS) released on April 2, showed that job openings, separations, and the hiring rate “changed little” from January to February.

What’s happening? There were 8.8 million job openings in February, while there were 5.8 million hires and 5.6 million separations. The job openings for February were down from a high of 12.2 million in March 2022, the BLS noted.

“[The] primary takeaway is that there [are] 1.4 jobs available for every individual looking for work,” economist Joseph Brusuelas said in a post on X. “The American labor market remains historically tight.”

The BLS’s revised numbers for January included 8.7 million job openings, 5.7 million hires, and 5.4 million total separations. 

Zoom out. HR pros looking to hire should stay the course, Scott Hamilton, global chairman of HR and compensation consulting for Gallagher, told HR Brew.

The economy is functioning unevenly, he said, as some industries are hiring, while others are shedding jobs. There are “nuggets of gold” in the industries that are cutting jobs, he said, and HR can scoop up unique talent by looking outside their sector.

“I really look at this JOLTS report—without a big spike up or down—as being an affirmation of sticking to the strategic plan that many HR leaders have in place, and continuing to work their plans,” Hamilton said.