The first labor market report of the week/month was published today showing 7.38 million new job openings, which was more than the 7.18 million expected and also higher than the 7.35 million last month. Tomorrow we will see the ADP forecast of unemployment and Friday will bring us the Mac Daddy unemployment report. ADP is expected to come in at 70,000, showing that there were just over 30% fewer new jobs filled this month than the month before. The BLS report on Friday is expected to show 80,000 new jobs, which is higher than their 73,000 calculation last month. Hourly earnings and unemployment rate are expected remain the same as last month’s readings.

Looking at the chart pictured above you can see that there are currently 40% fewer job openings than there were three years ago. 40% fewer job openings! And it’s not just one report, this has been a trend over the last 36 months. I’m hypothesizing that there are two major reasons for the waning JOLTS numbers. The first is that employers and employees alike are content with their relationships and workers aren’t quitting, getting laid off, or retiring with as much velocity as was the case a few years ago.  The other cause that companies just aren’t hiring as many people as they once needed. Either way there’s a clear indication here of a tightening job market.