- Bill Dunkelberg, chief economist at NFIB
The number of job vacancies in the US soared to the highest level in almost 14 years in November, a sign that rapid hiring that made 2014 the best year of job gains in 15 years is showing no signs of slowing down. The Labor Department's monthly Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey showed that job openings surged 2.9% to a seasonally adjusted level of 4.97 million, the highest since January 2001. That suggests businesses are determined to continue adding staff as they believe that strong economic growth will bolster demand for their goods and services. Analysts, in contrast, had expected 4.85 million job openings in the reported month, following a downwardly revised November's reading to 4.83 million down from 4.834 million previously reported. The JOLTS report is one of Fed Chair Janet Yellen's closely watched labour market indicators and provides a clear picture of how much slack remains in the labour market, indicating the number of job openings and how many people are quitting their jobs.
Yet, one area of major concern for the Fed is wage growth, which has not been keeping up the pace recently. In fact, wage growth deteriorated sharply in December, sapping the possibility of earlier interest rate hikes. Over the past twelve months average hourly earnings have increased a modest 1.7%, which is the least in two years, partly due to a 0.2% decline from a month earlier.
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