The October 2024 Jobs Report & September 2024 JOLTS: The Current U.S. Employment Situation

The October 2024 U.S. job numbers, released by the BLS on Friday, Nov. 1, showed little change compared to last month:

• Total nonfarm payroll employment increased by only 12,000.
• The unemployment rate remained at 4.1%.
• The number of unemployed people rose slightly to 7 million.

The significant drop in jobs added, which fell way short of the Dow Jones estimate of 100,000, is likely due to a combination of hurricanes and the Boeing strike.

The JOLTS report, released Tuesday, Oct. 29, revealed 7.4 million job openings on the last business day of September. Compared to August, and accounting for revisions (more on that below), hires increased to 5.6 million and layoffs and discharges rose to 1.8 million. Quits decreased to 3.1 million. Of note in specific industries, healthcare and social assistance job openings decreased by 178,000 and finance and insurance job openings increased by 85,000.

Here are more key takeaways from both reports:

• There were several August 2024 JOLTS revisions:
  • Job Openings: Revised down by 179,000 to 7.9 million
  • Hires: Revised up by 118,000 to 5.4 million
  • Total separations: Revised up by 171,000 to 5.2 million
  • Quits: Revised up by 94,000 to 3.2 million
  • Layoffs and Discharges: Revised up by 60,000 to 1.7 million
• The September 2024 quits rate dipped to 1.9%, the lowest we’ve seen since June 2020.
• Average hourly earnings increased by $0.13 (0.4%) to $35.46.
• The change in total nonfarm payroll employment for August was revised down to 78,000; the change for September was revised down to 223,000.

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Which are the top industries hiring now? Per the BLS Employment Situation Summary, healthcare added 52,000 jobs and government added 40,000 jobs. On the other hand, manufacturing and professional and business services were hit hard by strike activity and likely severe weather events, respectively, as mentioned above.

Time will tell how next month’s U.S. jobs data will fare, as hurricane recovery efforts continue and with the possible end of the Boeing strike on Monday. Dive into our Resource Center in the meantime for exclusive research and insights, or explore our solutions if you’re ready to hire or make your next career move.