Manufacturing News
November 5, 2026
November 5, 2026 · Statewide · Story 5 of 5
Manufacturing Job Openings Hit a Two-Year High. Hires Fell in the Same Month.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics' September JOLTS report, released November 3, showed total job openings jumping 333,000 to 7.523 million, while manufacturing vacancies climbed by 54,000 to reach 584,000, the strongest reading since December 2023 and roughly 50 percent higher than the year-earlier figure. Manufacturing hires fell by 34,000 to 313,000 in the same report, total layoffs dropped to 1.63 million (the lowest since March 2025), and quits jumped 321,000 to 3.365 million, the largest monthly increase since May 2023. Openings climbing while hires fall in the same month means plant supervisors nationally are carrying open seats longer and covering the gap with overtime instead of new hires, which lines up with what the Federal Reserve's September Beige Book flagged about skilled trades workers being difficult to find. A New York Fed working paper found LinkedIn's hiring-rate data tracks official JOLTS hires with a 0.95 correlation and posts roughly five weeks earlier, giving operators a leading read instead of waiting on the lagging monthly release. Markets are now pricing a near 80 percent chance of a December Fed rate hike off this report, so Indiana manufacturers financing new equipment should expect a tighter borrowing environment heading into the first quarter of 2027.
- Impact
- The 'low-fire, low-hire' pattern in manufacturing: openings up 54,000 while hires fell 34,000 in the same month, means plant supervisors nationally are running chronically open seats and absorbing it through overtime rather than new hires, exactly what the Federal Reserve's September Beige Book flagged when it said skilled trades workers were 'difficult to find.' A New York Fed working paper by economists Elizabeth Li, Giorgio Topa and Jacob Weber found LinkedIn's hiring-rate data tracks official JOLTS hires with a 0.95 correlation and is available roughly five weeks earlier, giving operators a leading indicator instead of waiting on the lagging monthly release. With markets now pricing a near-80% chance of a December Fed rate hike off this report, Indiana manufacturers financing new equipment should expect a tighter borrowing environment heading into Q1 2027.
- Watch
- Watch for the October 2026 JOLTS release on December 1, 2026, and the Fed's December rate decision.
- For the huddle
Are we using real-time signals like LinkedIn hiring-rate data to judge whether our open requisitions are actually fillable before committing to overtime costs or new capex-driven headcount?
If you're only checking the monthly JOLTS release, you're working about a month behind. LinkedIn's hiring-rate data tracks JOLTS hires with a 0.95 correlation and posts roughly five weeks earlier, so pull it before deciding whether an open requisition is actually fillable at the wage you're offering.
Sources
- US job openings rise by 333,000 to 7.52 million in September while layoffs fall by 127,000, fresh governm · timesofindia.indiatimes.com
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- Manufacturing Job Openings Hit a Two-Year High. Hires Fell in the Same Month.
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