The US Department of Labor published a report that reflects a certain cooling in the labor market. According to the market, this could stop the inflationary dynamic.
U.S. job postings fell more than expected in April, to the lowest level in more than three years, a sign that the North American labor market is cooling. According to the market, this could curb inflationary dynamics and help the Federal Reserve (Fed) lower interest rates.
As reported this Tuesday by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the Department of Labor in its Job Offers and Labor Turnover (JOLTS) report, job offers, a measure of labor demand, were reduced by 296,000, to 8,059 millionthe last day of April, its minimum since February 2021.
March data was revised slightly downward to show 8.355 million unfilled positions instead of the previously reported 8.488 million. It is worth remembering that vacancies reached a record of 12 million in March 2022.
Meanwhile, the number of people who left their jobs increased by 98,000up to 3,507 million in April.
Next week, Fed officials are expected to keep the official interest rate in the same 5.25%-5.5% range it has been in since July 2023. They have said they will likely wait until data show that inflation, after a larger-than-expected rebound during the first quarter, is heading back towards its 2% target.
Fed officials have said that only an unexpected and significant weakening of the labor market could trigger a rate cut sooner than expected.
So far, they have welcomed signs of a cooling labor market as a sign of rebalancing that eases upward pressure on prices.
Financial markets anticipate a first drop in the cost of credit in September and a second in December.
Source: Ambito
