US job openings in July put up third straight month-to-month drop
WASHINGTON, Aug 29 (Reuters) – U.S. job openings fell for a 3rd straight month in July because the labor market step by step slows, however circumstances stay tight, probably making certain that the Federal Reserve would hold rates of interest excessive for a while.
Job openings, a measure of labor demand dropped 338,000 to eight.827 million on the final day of July, the bottom stage since March 2021, the Labor Division mentioned in its month-to-month Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey, or JOLTS report, on Tuesday.
Information for June was revised decrease to point out 9.165 million job openings as an alternative of the beforehand reported 9.582 million. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast 9.465 million job openings in July.
The labor market has remained resilient regardless of 525 foundation factors in rate of interest hikes from the Fed since March 2022, partially as employers crammed positions, which opened up throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. Corporations have additionally been reluctant to put off staff after experiencing difficulties discovering labor throughout the pandemic. The unemployment fee is hovering round ranges final seen greater than 50 years in the past.
Fed Chair Jerome Powell mentioned on the annual Jackson Gap Financial Coverage Symposium final Friday that the U.S. central financial institution “will proceed fastidiously as we determine whether or not to tighten additional or, as an alternative, to carry the coverage fee fixed and await additional information.” Monetary markets anticipate the Fed will go away its benchmark in a single day rate of interest unchanged on the Sept. 19-20 coverage assembly, in accordance with the CME Group’s FedWatch Instrument. (Reporting by Lucia Mutikani; Enhancing by Andrea Ricci)
