Overview
New York State and United States
February 2023 - February 2024
Data Highlights: February 2024 (seasonally adjusted)
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ latest Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS), in February 2024 there were 501,000 job openings in New York State. This was down from January’s revised level of 517,000. At the same time, the number of unemployed in New York State decreased from 439,000 in January to 429,600 in February 2024.
The ratio of unemployed job seekers to job openings is a useful labor market indicator. It is calculated by dividing the number of unemployed workers by the number of job openings. In February 2024, there were 0.9 job seekers per job opening in New York State, up from January’s level of 0.8. The state’s ratio stood at 0.9 in February 2023.
Nationally, the number of job openings increased by 0.1% and the number of unemployed increased by 5.5% between January and February 2024. As a result, the ratio of unemployed job seekers to job openings in the U.S. held constant at 0.7 during this period. In February 2023, the U.S. ratio was 0.6.
At the beginning of the last national recession in February 2020, the number of unemployed job seekers per job opening stood at 1.1 in New York State and at 0.8 in the nation.
The Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) program produces data on job openings, hires and separations: https://www.bls.gov/jlt/
Unemployment data come from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Local Area Unemployment Statistics (LAUS) program: https://www.bls.gov/bls/unemployment.htm