October Job Market Report: Job Openings Still Down 10% Heading into Election

Key Findings

• The recovery progressed in October, with job openings rising 3.3 percent month-over-month to 5.44 million, which is a welcome rebound from near-stagnant growth in September. However, job openings remain 10.1 percent below pre-crisis levels, indicating a tough slog still ahead.
• October marks the peak of the holiday hiring season for retail job openings (+2.1 percent month-over-month). Similarly, trade & transportation (+14.6 percent) is surging due to increased consumer and employer demand in e-commerce.
• Key election battleground states in the Midwest and Sunbelt have almost universally seen job openings grow in the month before the election. The economic picture over the course of the crisis is more mixed, with closely contested states like Texas (-15.8 percent) and Pennsylvania (-16.0 percent) falling short of the national average.

Between the election and this Friday’s October jobs report release, the first week of November is packed with news set to shape how we see the political and economic landscape of the U.S. in 2020 and beyond. Despite signs in September of a slowing recovery and uncertainty amid surging COVID-19 cases, Glassdoor data shows that the labor market made steady progress in October. Glassdoor's latest Job Market Report shows 5.44 million job openings are available across the U.S., a solid 3.3 percent increase month-over-month. The 3.3 percent increase in October beats out the near-stagnant 0.7 percent growth in September, but falls short of the 5–7 percent growth seen from June through August. Job openings are still over 600,000 short of pre-crisis levels, indicating continuing softness in labor demand. However, demand for workers is bouncing back faster than during the Great Recession, as we’ve seen over a million job openings added since demand bottomed out in May. As U.S. citizens head to the polls to decide who will take the helm of the economic recovery in the coming four years, economic indicators show that, while a long slog remains ahead, the labor market is on an upward trajectory. Based on an analysis of employer job posting behavior on Glassdoor, 34 percent of employers reduced or paused all job openings in October, an improvement from 38 percent in September. While a larger share of employers are reducing job openings, these reductions are being offset by the faster expansion of demand for workers.

Change in Job Openings by Industry

• Retail job openings increased 2.1 percent month-over-month as the holiday retail hiring season continues. October is generally the peak in holiday job openings, and while Glassdoor data does show the normal holiday surge, the pandemic is still suppressing retailers' demand for seasonal workers below last year's levels.

• Trade & transportation job openings surged 14.6 percent as businesses prepare for the shift in holiday spending to e-commerce. The rise of e-commerce is driving demand for transportation & warehousing workers as well as a similar increase in interest from workers themselves who may be looking for seasonal jobs that require less direct exposure to customers.

• Education (-8.1 percent month-over-month) and government (-2.8 percent) job openings have dropped recently as state and local budgets are squeezed by the pandemic. If stalled Congressional negotiations prevent further federal aid for state and local governments, we may see more declines in hiring for these public sector roles.

• Food services (+2.6 percent month-over-month) job openings have continued to rise, not yet showing the impact of colder weather and the recent surge in COVID-19 cases around the country.

Change in Job Openings by Industry Group

Industry Group	Month-over-Month % Change
U.S. Total	3.3%
Business Services	-0.2%
Construction & Real Estate Services	-1.4%
Consumer Services	6.4%
Finance & Insurance	3.7%
Food Services	2.6%
Health Care	1.2%
Manufacturing & Production	1.5%
Public Services	-4.6%
Retail	2.1%
Tech	-2.0%
Trade & Transportation	14.6%

Note: Data as of October 26, 2020

Source: Glassdoor Job Market Report, November 3, 2020

For more detailed data on job openings trends by industry and industry group, see our appendix below.

Job Openings Rising But Still Weak in Many Battleground States

With the election underway, Glassdoor data shows how job openings have trended amid the pandemic in key election states. Among critical Midwest and Sunbelt states, job openings have increased universally over the last month; however, the picture over the duration of the crisis is more mixed. In the Midwest, Pennsylvania and Minnesota have performed significantly worse than the national average, with job openings still down double digits. By contrast, job openings in Wisconsin have surged and are nearing pre-crisis levels, while job openings in Michigan have actually fully recovered and are now up 1.8 percent above pre-crisis levels, driven largely by surges in pandemic-related hiring in e-commerce and health care. In the Sunbelt, labor market performance has been more concentrated around the national average. Georgia and Arizona have seen job openings recover faster than the national average. Texas, now potentially a battleground state after years of being solidly Republican, is still 15.8 percent below pre-crisis levels, a sign that economic sluggishness may be contributing to the closeness of the election. The declines in Texas are broad-based but include large declines in politically sensitive industries like energy & utilities (-45.6 percent) and manufacturing (-22.4 percent).

Job Opening Trends in Key Election States

Region	State	Month-over-Month % Change	% Change vs. Pre-Crisis Level
U.S. Total	U.S. Total	3.3%	-10.1%
Midwest	Michigan	3.9%	1.8%
	Minnesota	6.0%	-14.3%
	Pennsylvania	1.8%	-16.0%
	Wisconsin	5.4%	-3.9%
Sunbelt	Arizona	0.7%	-7.2%
	Florida	6.6%	-11.3%
	Georgia	6.1%	-4.3%
	Texas	3.9%	-15.8%

Source: Glassdoor Job Market Report, November 3, 2020

For more detailed data on job openings trends by state and for select metropolitan areas, see our appendix below.

Conclusion

Glassdoor data indicates that the recovery continued in October, mitigating concerns of a drastic slowdown from September. While signs point to continued economic progress, the trajectory is far from certain. November promises to be a particularly consequential month for the economy between the election, ongoing recovery and surging COVID-19 cases around the country. 

Methodology

The job openings data for the selected dates is generated based on the methodology used in Glassdoor’s monthly Job Market Report, which provides a real-time view of hiring trends and wage growth across the U.S. based on millions of online jobs and salaries on Glassdoor. The data represents a snapshot of the number of job openings available on Glassdoor on the highlighted dates. Generally, "pre-crisis" refers to the level on March 16, 2020, the peak in job openings immediately prior to the beginning of the crisis. Week-over-week, month-over-month and year-over-year comparisons are based on the Mondays from the comparable period. Except where otherwise noted, no additional smoothing, averaging or seasonal adjustment for job openings data is performed. Because no smoothing or averaging takes place, the data may not be directly comparable to Glassdoor's monthly Job Market Report.

Appendix

Each table may not sum up to total. For example, industry data may be missing for some employers.

Table A: Change in Job Openings by Industry

	Job Openings				Percent Change
	Oct 26, 2020	Oct 19, 2020	Sep 28, 2020	Oct 28, 2019
Category	Current Week	Last Week	Last Month	Last Year	Week-over-Week	Month-over-Month	Year-over-Year
Total	5,437,352	5,419,359	5,263,045	5,884,222	0.3%	3.3%	-7.6%
Accounting & Legal	37,668	36,389	36,691	54,944	3.5%	2.7%	-31.4%
Aerospace & Defense	58,238	59,465	61,462	93,308	-2.1%	-5.2%	-37.6%
Architecture & Civil Engineering	27,880	27,558	27,257	46,479	1.2%	2.3%	-40.0%
Arts & Entertainment	30,495	30,742	28,413	52,577	-0.8%	7.3%	-42.0%
Automotive	91,931	90,470	89,169	101,475	1.6%	3.1%	-9.4%
Banking & Financial Services	107,965	107,457	102,142	137,173	0.5%	5.7%	-21.3%
Beauty & Fitness	60,771	60,744	59,713	85,052	0.0%	1.8%	-28.5%
Biotech & Pharmaceuticals	73,498	73,767	72,687	75,885	-0.4%	1.1%	-3.1%
Business Services	8,322	8,280	8,878	12,627	0.5%	-6.3%	-34.1%
Computer Software & Hardware	136,529	135,140	128,356	155,453	1.0%	6.4%	-12.2%
Construction	56,943	57,622	57,604	74,404	-1.2%	-1.1%	-23.5%
Consulting	58,440	58,490	57,986	79,202	-0.1%	0.8%	-26.2%
Consumer Electronics	12,261	12,096	14,315	14,219	1.4%	-14.3%	-13.8%
Consumer Services	27,417	31,951	18,220	19,073	-14.2%	50.5%	43.7%
Education & Schools	145,392	145,181	158,170	215,130	0.1%	-8.1%	-32.4%
Energy & Utilities	35,741	35,569	35,689	49,864	0.5%	0.1%	-28.3%
Facilities	46,561	47,640	47,810	44,851	-2.3%	-2.6%	3.8%
Farming & Agriculture	9,324	9,574	9,405	10,575	-2.6%	-0.9%	-11.8%
Government	122,070	122,389	125,560	122,899	-0.3%	-2.8%	-0.7%
Health Care & Hospitals	849,105	867,433	839,016	820,371	-2.1%	1.2%	3.5%
Information Technology	115,812	115,677	124,358	177,908	0.1%	-6.9%	-34.9%
Insurance	67,734	66,578	67,348	75,187	1.7%	0.6%	-9.9%
Internet & Tech	229,580	156,227	239,243	88,435	47.0%	-4.0%	159.6%
Manufacturing	202,089	201,356	194,555	234,151	0.4%	3.9%	-13.7%
Marketing & Advertising	69,929	71,699	68,689	59,109	-2.5%	1.8%	18.3%
Media & Publishing	14,077	13,789	13,630	25,493	2.1%	3.3%	-44.8%
Nonprofit	59,034	58,949	58,599	75,420	0.1%	0.7%	-21.7%
Private Security	22,478	23,049	24,980	22,762	-2.5%	-10.0%	-1.2%
Real Estate	45,566	46,676	46,821	49,510	-2.4%	-2.7%	-8.0%
Restaurants & Bars	486,543	486,739	474,079	543,967	0.0%	2.6%	-10.6%
Retail	422,241	420,641	407,056	520,015	0.4%	3.7%	-18.8%
Supermarkets	98,766	100,772	101,137	96,340	-2.0%	-2.3%	2.5%
Telecommunications	29,620	29,457	28,786	40,396	0.6%	2.9%	-26.7%
Transportation & Logistics	262,456	285,406	225,890	261,450	-8.0%	16.2%	0.4%
Travel & Tourism	42,987	42,684	41,447	89,619	0.7%	3.7%	-52.0%

Table B: Change in Job Openings by Industry Group

	Job Openings				Percent Change
	Oct 26, 2020	Oct 19, 2020	Sep 28, 2020	Oct 28, 2019
Category	Current Week	Last Week	Last Month	Last Year	Week-over-Week	Month-over-Month	Year-over-Year
Total	5,437,352	5,419,359	5,263,045	5,884,222	0.3%	3.3%	-7.6%
Business Services	196,837	197,907	197,224	228,644	-0.5%	-0.2%	-13.9%
Construction & Real Estate Services	176,950	179,496	179,492	215,244	-1.4%	-1.4%	-17.8%
Consumer Services	297,298	299,837	279,378	413,685	-0.8%	6.4%	-28.1%
Finance & Insurance	175,699	174,035	169,490	212,360	1.0%	3.7%	-17.3%
Food Services	486,543	486,739	474,079	543,967	0.0%	2.6%	-10.6%
Health Care	922,603	941,200	911,703	896,256	-2.0%	1.2%	2.9%
Production	305,392	305,964	301,111	387,898	-0.2%	1.4%	-21.3%
Public Services	326,496	326,519	342,329	413,449	0.0%	-4.6%	-21.0%
Retail	533,268	533,509	522,508	630,574	0.0%	2.1%	-15.4%
Tech	481,921	407,044	491,957	421,796	18.4%	-2.0%	14.3%
Trade & Transportation	289,384	312,327	252,432	290,810	-7.3%	14.6%	-0.5%

Table C: Change in Job Openings by State

	Job Openings				Percent Change
	Oct 26, 2020	Oct 19, 2020	Sep 28, 2020	Oct 28, 2019
Category	Current Week	Last Week	Last Month	Last Year	Week-over-Week	Month-over-Month	Year-over-Year
Total	5,437,352	5,419,359	5,263,045	5,884,222	0.3%	3.3%	-7.6%
Remote	26,016	25,387	23,620	10,094	2.5%	10.1%	157.7%
AK	10,793	10,803	10,835	11,479	-0.1%	-0.4%	-6.0%
AL	71,997	72,406	73,288	73,094	-0.6%	-1.8%	-1.5%
AR	43,794	43,623	41,946	39,595	0.4%	4.4%	10.6%
AZ	113,974	111,881	113,181	115,945	1.9%	0.7%	-1.7%
CA	547,159	537,468	538,876	655,621	1.8%	1.5%	-16.5%
CO	106,053	106,561	103,522	129,710	-0.5%	2.4%	-18.2%
CT	58,846	59,283	58,914	69,565	-0.7%	-0.1%	-15.4%
DC	31,986	32,083	32,411	44,937	-0.3%	-1.3%	-28.8%
DE	17,479	17,560	17,933	19,638	-0.5%	-2.5%	-11.0%
FL	295,595	305,329	277,405	315,958	-3.2%	6.6%	-6.4%
GA	179,890	178,433	169,566	187,564	0.8%	6.1%	-4.1%
HI	12,475	12,548	12,591	18,879	-0.6%	-0.9%	-33.9%
IA	59,411	57,463	57,812	57,662	3.4%	2.8%	3.0%
ID	25,447	24,257	23,113	23,061	4.9%	10.1%	10.3%
IL	230,311	239,121	207,686	249,616	-3.7%	10.9%	-7.7%
IN	116,286	119,634	112,798	118,309	-2.8%	3.1%	-1.7%
KS	55,238	59,301	49,409	54,500	-6.9%	11.8%	1.4%
KY	76,460	76,128	73,992	71,871	0.4%	3.3%	6.4%
LA	59,176	59,268	59,014	63,664	-0.2%	0.3%	-7.0%
MA	187,898	170,680	192,097	187,924	10.1%	-2.2%	0.0%
MD	127,758	125,578	128,514	131,918	1.7%	-0.6%	-3.2%
ME	30,109	29,880	28,375	26,090	0.8%	6.1%	15.4%
MI	158,239	157,910	152,288	156,104	0.2%	3.9%	1.4%
MN	98,789	96,519	93,226	113,234	2.4%	6.0%	-12.8%
MO	102,845	106,080	99,084	111,267	-3.0%	3.8%	-7.6%
MS	39,630	39,151	39,113	37,839	1.2%	1.3%	4.7%
MT	17,256	16,554	15,914	17,401	4.2%	8.4%	-0.8%
NC	182,639	179,960	176,983	194,939	1.5%	3.2%	-6.3%
ND	15,342	15,350	15,308	15,546	-0.1%	0.2%	-1.3%
NE	36,637	36,250	36,839	33,011	1.1%	-0.5%	11.0%
NH	31,663	32,669	34,975	31,793	-3.1%	-9.5%	-0.4%
NJ	135,421	143,794	133,988	156,332	-5.8%	1.1%	-13.4%
NM	38,228	37,504	36,297	39,427	1.9%	5.3%	-3.0%
NV	42,343	41,558	39,956	48,996	1.9%	6.0%	-13.6%
NY	246,251	245,291	238,325	302,611	0.4%	3.3%	-18.6%
OH	189,626	189,684	190,749	209,079	0.0%	-0.6%	-9.3%
OK	53,700	53,211	51,709	59,658	0.9%	3.9%	-10.0%
OR	63,968	63,730	61,444	71,513	0.4%	4.1%	-10.6%
PA	240,188	240,497	235,979	248,023	-0.1%	1.8%	-3.2%
RI	18,866	18,668	19,840	20,419	1.1%	-4.9%	-7.6%
SC	86,652	86,631	84,646	88,104	0.0%	2.4%	-1.6%
SD	17,330	17,189	16,524	16,715	0.8%	4.9%	3.7%
TN	120,728	122,260	119,255	122,899	-1.3%	1.2%	-1.8%
TX	408,616	429,009	393,449	456,200	-4.8%	3.9%	-10.4%
UT	49,809	49,875	46,596	54,040	-0.1%	6.9%	-7.8%
VA	179,747	178,817	175,880	194,410	0.5%	2.2%	-7.5%
VT	12,137	12,333	12,425	14,217	-1.6%	-2.3%	-14.6%
WA	161,607	136,430	138,227	152,053	18.5%	16.9%	6.3%
WI	110,915	105,303	105,185	111,309	5.3%	5.4%	-0.4%
WV	32,597	32,132	32,234	35,763	1.4%	1.1%	-8.9%
WY	11,049	10,801	10,535	11,696	2.3%	4.9%	-5.5%

Table D: Change in Job Openings for Select Metropolitan Areas

	Job Openings				Percent Change
	Oct 26, 2020	Oct 19, 2020	Sep 28, 2020	Oct 28, 2019
Category	Current Week	Last Week	Last Month	Last Year	Week-over-Week	Month-over-Month	Year-over-Year
Total	5,437,352	5,419,359	5,263,045	5,884,222	0.3%	3.3%	-7.6%
Atlanta, GA	107,529	106,570	100,282	117,182	0.9%	7.2%	-8.2%
Boston, MA	149,465	132,373	153,124	152,180	12.9%	-2.4%	-1.8%
Chicago, IL	181,331	180,773	165,693	199,417	0.3%	9.4%	-9.1%
Houston, TX	76,697	85,847	76,826	95,370	-10.7%	-0.2%	-19.6%
Los Angeles, CA	168,371	168,916	163,077	214,255	-0.3%	3.2%	-21.4%
New York City, NY	249,829	256,683	243,630	311,206	-2.7%	2.5%	-19.7%
Philadelphia, PA	110,493	111,573	108,702	112,719	-1.0%	1.6%	-2.0%
San Francisco, CA	114,238	107,112	117,353	146,411	6.7%	-2.7%	-22.0%
Seattle, WA	117,805	97,141	98,256	112,967	21.3%	19.9%	4.3%
Washington, DC	153,807	153,112	148,811	185,822	0.5%	3.4%	-17.2%