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Job Openings in Manufacturing Remain Elevated

March 9, 2023
Separations are slowing, but the number of job openings is still higher than the number of people looking for work.

While job openings in the overall economy are falling, unfilled positions in manufacturing remain roughly stable. The latest Job Openings and Labor Turnover report from the Department of Labor found that job openings in manufacturing actually increased from 797,000 to 803,000 while job openings in the total private economy fell from 10.1 million to 9.7 million between December of last year and January.

In a post on LinkedIn, Chief Economist for the National Association of Manufacturers Chad Moutray noted that job openings in manufacturing have averaged 844,750, “remaining well above pre-pandemic levels.”

Moutray also said that the economy as a whole is a job-seeker’s market, noting that the JOLTs report found 5,694,000 unemployed workers for every 100 job openings in the overall U.S. economy. “As such, there continued to be more job openings than people actively looking for work,” Moutray wrote.

Job openings in durable goods fell from 519 thousand to 476 thousand, according to preliminary Bureau of Labor Statistics data, though hires fell slightly by about 10 thousand to 224 thousand hires.

Separations, which include when a worker quits, retires, or is laid off, rose by about 12 thousand workers between December and January, making the total estimated number of separations (218 thousand) almost equal to the number of new hires in durable goods.

Nondurable goods companies appear, based on the data, to be having more trouble filling available positions. Job openings at food manufacturers and other companies in that category rose by 50 thousand to 328 thousand. Hiring at nondurable companies fell by 22 thousand between December and January.

Despite the poor recruitment figures, nondurable goods companies performed slightly better than their durable goods peers at retaining employees in January, as total separations only rose by about 4 thousand.

About the Author

Ryan Secard | Associate Editor

 

Focus: Workforce and labor issues; machining and foundry management
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryan-secard/

Associate Editor Ryan Secard covers topics relevant to the manufacturing workforce, including recruitment, safety, labor organizations, and the skills gap. Ryan has written IndustryWeek's Salary Survey annually since 2021 and has coordinated its Talent Advisory Board since September 2023.

Ryan got started at IndustryWeek in August 2019 as an editorial intern and was hired as a news editor in 2020 before his 2023 promotion to associate editor, talent. He has a Bachelor of Arts in English from the College of Wooster.

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