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Job openings for manufacturing dropped by 31,000 from an upwardly revised 513,000 in January to 482,000 in February. Durable goods job openings decreased by 21,000, while nondurable goods job openings declined by 11,000. The manufacturing job openings rate fell 0.3% to 3.6% in February and decreased from 4.2% the previous year. The rate for durable goods manufacturing similarly fell 0.3% to 4.2%, while it ticked down 0.2% to 2.7% for nondurable goods.

In the larger economy, the number of job openings fell to 7.6 million, a decrease of 194,000 from the previous month and 877,000 from the previous year. The job openings rate declined to 4.5%, down from 4.7% in January and from 5.1% last year. This data reflects an overall labor market that has eased back closer to pre-pandemic levels, but remains relatively tight from a historical perspective.

The number of hires in the overall economy inched up 25,000 to 5.4 million in February but dropped 268,000 from the previous year. The hires rate for the overall economy stayed the same in February at 3.4%. Meanwhile, the hires rate for manufacturing stayed the same at 2.6% from January. The hires rate for durable goods was unchanged at 2.5%, but edged down 0.1% to 2.7% for nondurable goods.

In the larger economy, total separations, which include quits, layoffs, discharges and other separations, fell 11,000 from January to 5.3 million and dropped 215,000 from the previous year. The total separations rate stayed the same at 3.3% for the overall economy but edged down 0.1% for manufacturing to 2.5%. Within that rate, layoffs and discharges declined by 12,000 in February for manufacturing, while quits decreased by 1,000. The quit and layoff rates continue to remain lower for manufacturing than the total nonfarm sector.