The three-month change in the stock of job vacancies returned to positive territory in August for the first time since March last year. Vacancies are a good coincident indicator and the 2% gain is historically consistent with quarterly GDP expansion of the order of 0.5% – see first chart.
The recovery in vacancies, as well as the prior plunge, was signalled in advance by the Markit job placements index. The Market index climbed further to a 17-month high in August, suggesting the vacancies rise will gather pace – second chart.
