U.S. job openings fell to the lowest level in more than three years in March, but remained at historic highs, a sign that the job market remains resilient despite rising interest rates.
The Labor Department reported Wednesday that employers posted 8.5 million job openings in March, down from 8.8 million in February and the lowest number since February 2021.
The number of Americans who quit their jobs fell to its lowest level since January 2021, a sign of declining confidence in their ability to find a better job.
However, layoffs have decreased.
Although the number of monthly job openings has decreased significantly from its peak of 12.2 million in March 2022, it remains at a high level. It never exceeded 8 million until 2021, but he has now reached that threshold for 37 consecutive months.
The high number of job openings reflects the surprisingly strong U.S. labor market.
When the Federal Reserve began raising interest rates in March 2022 to combat a resurgence in inflation, it was expected that higher borrowing costs would tip the economy into recession and cause unemployment to rise.
Rather, the economy continued to grow, businesses continued to hire, and the unemployment rate remained below 4% for 26 consecutive months, the longest streak since the 1960s, even as the Fed raised its benchmark interest rate 11 times. .
Employers are adding a healthy 276,000 jobs per month on average this year, up from 251,000 last year, and Friday’s April jobs report showed an additional 230,000 jobs added last month. It is expected to show a decline but still robustness, the newspaper’s survey of forecasters showed. Data company FactSet.
Inflation has also eased, slowing from a 40-year high of 9.1% in June 2022 to 3.5% in March.
The combination of lower inflation and continued economic strength has raised hopes that the Fed can slow the economy enough to achieve a so-called soft landing, or to rein in inflation without triggering a recession.
Some economists have suggested there is no need for a landing at all, and the economy can continue to grow steadily even as inflation falls.
However, inflation progress has stalled recently.
On a month-on-month basis, the consumer price inflation rate has not declined since October.
Also, on a year-on-year basis, it remains well above the Fed’s 2% target.
The Fed has signaled it expects three policy changes and rate cuts this year.
However, given the disappointing inflation data, the central bank does not appear to be in a hurry to get started. expected to leave interest rates unchanged at Wednesday’s meeting.
