Job openings fall as the economy reacts to Fed tightening
Zachary Halaschak
Video Embed
The number of job openings in the United States decreased to 9.8 million in May, showing signs of contraction as the Federal Reserve raises interest rates.
The new numbers, which look at openings across all sectors for that month, were released as part of the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey, which was updated by the Bureau of Labor Statistics on Thursday. While still strong, the decrease is notable.
BIDENOMICS: HOW THE STOCK MARKET HAS FARED UNDER BIDEN’S PRESIDENCY
The falling number of openings is a sign that the labor market, which has held up despite a series of major threats over the past two years, might be starting to take a hit from the Fed’s rate hikes and the turmoil in the banking system following the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank.
The largest decreases in job openings were in healthcare and social assistance, finance and insurance, and other services.
About 4 million workers quit their jobs in May, up slightly from the month before. The figure is equivalent to about 2.6% of the workforce.
The so-called quits rate measures the number of people who voluntarily left their jobs and includes those who left their previous employment for another job and people who quit but are confident they will soon find new employment, given the tightness in the labor market.
Also of note in Thursday’s JOLTS report, layoffs and discharges were little changed at 1.6 million in May.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
After more than a year of successive rate hikes, some by very aggressive margins, this month the Fed opted to hold rates steady at 5% to 5.25%, a pause that the Fed has indicated might be merely temporary.
The economy crushed expectations in May and added another 339,000 jobs while the unemployment rate crept up slightly to a still low 3.7%. The latest jobs data for June is out Friday and will be closely watched by economists.