Research From iCIMS MHI Shows Decreased Job Openings in August

Recent research from iCIMS’ Monthly Hiring Indicator (MHI) has shown that U.S. employers have continued to increase their hiring, but new job openings slowed in August. Prior to seasonal adjustments, new hires increased by 13 percent and new job openings increased by 8.8 percent. Compared to the past four years, this is the smallest rise in openings before seasonal adjustments that iCIMS has observed during the month of August.

The MHI is an economic indicator published by iCIMS, gathering information from its database of over 75 million applications and three million jobs every year. New hires directly translate into payroll growth, after netting out departures, layoffs, and other separations.

Chief economist at iCIMS, Josh Wright, said “the sky isn’t falling yet. While this month shows that employers are still actively filling open rolls, the slowing in new openings could be one of the first cracks in the armor for the labor market — and the all-important U.S. consumer.”

Highlights of the August 2019 U.S. New Hires and Openings:

• There was an uptick in hiring activity before seasonal adjustments across all sectors that iCIMS tracks, with marked increases in retail (18.4 percent) and manufacturing (13.1 percent).
• There was a modest increase in job openings before seasonal adjustments across most industries that iCIMS tracks, but not in retail trade and financial activities.
• The Northeast showed weaker-than-normal hiring activity (5.2 percent), which is in line with the previous months. This suggests that the region’s job market could be less dynamic than the Midwest (16.6 percent), the West (15 percent), and the South (13.3 percent) before seasonal adjustments.

About the iCIMS MHI Methodology:

The iCIMS MHI measures new hires and job openings based on iCIMS system data, which is created through user activity within the company’s platform. The provider process over one million hires per quarter, and 75 million applications annually. Though iCIMS supports employers internationally, the MHI is based solely on U.S. hiring activity. The figures present both indexes of hiring activity and their month-over-month percentage change by utilizing a fixed panel of customers.

To read iCIMS’ full press release, click here.

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