Job openings nudge higher in February, report says
WASHINGTON – U.S. job openings edged up in February, though labor market conditions are gradually easing in support of expectations that the Federal Reserve will start cutting interest rates by June.
The Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey, or JOLTS report, from the Labor Department on Tuesday showed there were 1.3 vacancies for every unemployed person in February, down from 1.4 in January. The decline in vacancy-to-unemployment ratio reflected a spike in unemployment at the start of the year.
Economists, however, argued that the drop in the ratio in February did not mark a material shift in the labor market.
“There is nothing here to worry Fed policymakers, who want a strong labor market, but the very slow progress in reducing the apparent excess demand for labor is not likely to encourage the (Fed) to cut interest rates in the immediate future,” said Conrad DeQuadros, senior economic adviser at Brean Capital in New York.
Job openings, a measure of labor demand, edged up 8,000 to 8.7 million on the last day of February, the Labor Department’s Bureau of Labor Statistics said. Data for January was revised lower to show 8.7 million unfilled positions instead of the previously reported 8.8 million.
Economists polled by Reuters had forecast 8.7 million job openings in February. Vacancies peaked at a record 12 million in March 2022.
Fed officials last month left the U.S. central bank’s policy rate unchanged in the current 5.25%-5.50% range, having raised it by 525 basis points since March 2022.
Policymakers anticipate three rate cuts this year. Financial markets expect the first rate reduction in June.
The job openings rate was unchanged at 5.3%.
Hiring increased 120,000 to 5.8 million. It was driven by retail trade, with 78,000 hires. There were also notable gains in transportation, warehousing and utilities.
Layoffs increased 128,000 to 1.7 million. Job cuts rose in the arts, entertainment and recreation industry as well as accommodation and food services. But they declined in professional and business services.