(June 30): US job openings were little changed in May, suggesting labour demand remains stable alongside a recent pickup in payroll growth.
Available positions ticked up to 7.59 million last month, slightly above the revised April level, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data out on Tuesday. The median estimate in a Bloomberg survey of economists called for 7.3 million openings.
Sectors including construction and leisure and hospitality posted gains. Vacancies in professional and business services, which accounted for almost all of the April increase by sector, were little changed in May. Openings in the financial activities sector, which has become the biggest drag on job growth this year, continued to fall.
Tuesday’s report underscores other recent data indicating growing momentum in the labour market. Though a surge in prices during the Iran war has depressed consumer sentiment and eaten into wage gains, it’s had less of an impact on demand for workers as consumer spending has remained resilient.
The so-called quits rate, which measures the percentage of people voluntarily leaving their jobs each month, was unchanged at 1.9%. Lay-offs ticked higher, while hires were little changed.
The report also showed the number of vacancies per unemployed worker, a ratio US Federal Reserve officials watch closely as a proxy for the balance between labour demand and supply, was also little changed at 1 to 1. At its peak in 2022, the ratio was two to one.
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Recent jobless claims data have shown few signs of widespread lay-offs despite some high-profile job-cut announcements by companies including Uber Technologies Inc, Robinhood Markets Inc and Microsoft Corp.
The government’s monthly jobs report due on Thursday will offer additional insights into the state of the labour market. Economists expect it to show the US created 110,000 jobs in June. A separate job-posting index from Indeed rose in mid-June by the most of any two-week period this year so far, though they remain subdued overall.
Other data out on Tuesday showed consumer confidence edged up in June, helped by falling gasoline prices.
Uploaded by Tham Yek Lee
