The accommodation and food services sector reported 858,000 job openings in March, down from a revised 900,000 in February and a six-month low. While the broader labor market has cooled over the past couple of years, job postings in the sector remain somewhat above the pre-pandemic monthly average of 835,000 (2017-2019), gradually stabilizing from post-pandemic highs. For comparison, job openings in the sector averaged 1,410,000 in 2022, 1,095,000 in 2023, and 889,000 in 2024.
Overall hiring has also weakened notably over the past two years but moved higher in March. In the latest data, businesses in the sector hired 761,000 workers, bouncing back from an eight-month low in February (711,000). Hiring activity peaked at 1,059,000 in May 2022. Meanwhile, total separations rose declined to 728,000 in March, resulting in a net gain of 33,000 workers for the month, the first positive reading in three months.
Quits in the accommodation and food services sector rose from 564,000 in February to 624,000 in March, a 13-month high. While overall quits have trended higher year to date, the overall quit rate has cooled notably from two to three years ago during the “Great Resignation.” Overall, quits in the sector are slightly below the pre-pandemic average of 633,000 recorded from 2017 to 2019.
Meanwhile, across all nonfarm payrolls, quits increased from 3.25 million in February to 3.33 million in March, a 10-month high. Quits in the broader U.S. economy were essentially at the pre-pandemic average of 3.34 million in March, suggesting a return to more typical labor market trends.
In the broader U.S. economy, nonfarm business job openings decreased from 7.48 million in February to 7.19 million in March, a 6-month low. With 7.08 million unemployed individuals in March, this translates to approximately 98.5 unemployed workers for every 100 job openings.
In essence, the labor market is moving closer to a 1-to-1 ration for job openings to the number of people unemployed. While job openings continue to outnumber active job seekers by 109,000, the gap has narrowed significantly as the labor market has cooled notably. For comparison, the ratio of job openings to unemployed individuals was nearly 2-to-1 in December 2022, with just 51.8 unemployed workers per 100 job openings and a surplus of more than 5.3 million job openings compared to available job seekers.
Source: National Restaurant Association
