Key facts
- US job openings decreased to 7.079 million in August.
- Layoffs remained low, dropping to 1.641 million.
- The hires rate increased to 3.3% in August.
- The Federal Reserve recently raised its benchmark interest rate to 3.75%-4.00%.
US job openings fell in August, but layoffs remained historically low, suggesting a stable labor market. The Labor Department's Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that job openings dropped by 256,000 to 7.079 million by the end of August. Data for July was revised upward to 7.335 million vacancies. Economists surveyed by Reuters had anticipated 7.225 million open positions. The job openings rate decreased to 4.3% from 4.4% in July. Concerns exist regarding the JOLTS report's low response rate, which has declined since before the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite these figures, the labor market is largely seen as having recovered from summer struggles. Nonfarm payrolls increased by 162,000 in August, the largest gain in five months. September's employment report is expected to show 90,000 job gains with the unemployment rate holding steady at 4.1%. Hiring rose by 46,000 to 5.192 million, increasing the hires rate to 3.3%. Layoffs and discharges fell by 61,000 to 1.641 million, lowering the rate to 1.0%. The reluctance of employers to ramp up hiring, coupled with uncertainty from the US-Israeli war with Iran, has contributed to labor market stability and driven up energy prices and inflation.