Financial FAQs
The latest Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) report showed that small businesses are hurting the most during this pandemic with even outdoor dining banned in some regions, such as Southern California, while new hires and job openings were basically unchanged in November.
It looks like most businesses are holding their breath over future plans until there is more certainty about COVID-19 outcomes.
The number of job openings was little changed at 6.5 million on the last business day of November, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Hires were little changed at 6.0 million (deep blue line on graph) while total separations increased to 5.4 million. Within separations, the quits rate (yellow line) was unchanged at 2.2 percent while the layoffs and discharges rate (red bar) increased to 1.4 percent.
Details include the fact that layoffs increased 295,000 to nearly 2.0 million in November. Hiring rose 67,000 to 5.979 million. The hiring rate was steady at 4.2 percent. A separate report showed a sharp decline in confidence among small businesses in December.
Hires increased in professional and business services (+175,000) and mining and logging (+13,000). Hires decreased in accommodation and food services (-73,000), other services (-67,000), and information (-43,000). The number of hires was little changed in all four regions as we said.
What is still missing from this picture? Apple mobility tracks the number of Google map requests, which is a proxy for frequency of travel (except for regular commuters). It confirms people are traveling approximately 50 percent less, another so-called high frequency indicator of economic trends, which is why entertainment, leisure and hospitality jobs have declined as indicated in the most recent unemployment report.
Also, the NFIB Small Business Optimism Index declined 5.5 points in December to 95.9, falling below the average Index value since 1973 of 98. Nine of the 10 Index components declined and only one improved. Owners expecting better business conditions over the next six months declined 24 points to a net negative 16 percent, said the press release.
“This month’s drop in small business optimism is historically very large, and most of the decline was due to the outlook of sales and business conditions in 2021,” said NFIB Chief Economist Bill Dunkelberg. “Small businesses are concerned about potential new economic policy in the new administration and the increased spread of COVID-19 that is causing renewed government-mandated business closures across the nation.”
The beige-book report, prepared by the Federal Reserve on information collected by regional Fed banks on or before Jan. 4, showed modestly higher growth in most parts of the country but found that two districts reported no change in activity (St. Louis and Kansas City) while two noted a decline (New York and Philadelphia).
So there is no inherent reason business and consumer confidence might return to pre-pandemic levels once the vaccinations begin to reach the general population. Most economists predict a rebound by the beginning of fall when schools are scheduled to fully open again.
Much will depend on what kind of legislation a Democratic congress will pass—including a higher minimum wage, expanding Obamacare with a public option, and a national reconstruction program that will begin to upgrade our badly obsolescent infrastructure and create millions of good-paying jobs.
Harlan Green © 2020
Follow Harlan Green on Twitter: https://twitter.com/HarlanGreen
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