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Job openings for manufacturing increased by 31,000 to 462,000 in January. The gain was concentrated primarily in durable goods, up 26,000, while nondurable goods job openings rose by a smaller 4,000. The manufacturing job openings rate edged up 0.2% to 3.5% in January but declined from 4.1% the previous year. The rate for durable goods manufacturing increased 0.4% to 3.9%, while it inched up 0.1% to 2.9% for nondurable goods.

In the larger economy, the number of job openings rose to 7.7 million, an increase of 232,000 from the previous month but a decrease of 728,000 from the previous year. The job openings rate increased to 4.6%, up from 4.5% in December but down from 5.1% last year. While this data reflects an overall labor market that has cooled significantly, steady hiring and low layoffs suggest the labor market remains solid.

The number of hires in the overall economy was relatively unchanged at 5.4 million in January but dropped 179,000 from the previous year. The hires rate for the overall economy stayed the same in January at 3.4%. Meanwhile the hires rate for manufacturing increased 0.2% to 2.6%. The hires rate for durable goods rose 0.5% to 2.5%, but fell 0.2% to 2.8% for nondurable goods.

Total separations, which include quits, layoffs, discharges and other separations, rose 170,000 from December to 5.3 million but dropped 177,000 from the previous year. The total separations rate inched up 0.1% to 3.3% for the overall economy and stayed the same for manufacturing at 2.5%. Within that rate, layoffs and discharges rose by 6,000 in January for manufacturing, while quits increased by 5,000. Despite the gain, the quit and layoff rates continue to remain lower for manufacturing than the total nonfarm sector.