The dynamism that gives the U.S. labor market its edge is slowing down.
The number of people that go from one job to immediately land in another has fallen by more than half a percentage point in recent months, according to
The dwindling numbers of job switchers — often the most highly skilled — suggest these workers are insecure about their job prospects, or they're not getting poached like they used to.
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The number of available positions has edged down from over 12 million in March 2022 to 8.76 million, mainly reflecting a slowdown in the labor market, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey. The measure of voluntary job-leavers as a share of total employment, dropped to the lowest since 2020.
There are a couple more factors contributing to "a stay-in-place labor force," according to Julia Pollak, ZipRecruiter's chief economist.
Labor hoarding by employers who faced persistent staffing challenges during the pandemic, along with remote work, which often reduces attrition, may be contributing to a "new normal" in the U.S. labor market, she said.
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The slowing churn may be good news for the Federal Reserve and its efforts to slow stubborn inflation without harming employment.
"It's one of the components you'd want to see for a soft landing, a cooldown in the labor market primarily driven by fewer workers switching jobs," said Nick Bunker, director of North American economic research at Indeed's Hiring Lab.
"If hiring slows down, you probably want to see less job switching than less hiring of jobless workers," he said.
