Tuesday, June 4, 2024
Year : 2, Issue: 23
U.S. job openings fell in April to the lowest level since 2021. But they remained at historically strong levels despite high interest rates and signs the economy is slowing.
The Labor Department reported Tuesday that employers posted 8.1 million vacancies in April, down from a revised 8.4 million in March. The March figures had originally come in at 8.5 million.
Still, layoffs fell, and the number of Americans quitting their jobs — a sign of confidence in their prospects — rose in April.
Before 2021, they never topped 8 million — a threshold they have now reached for 38 straight months.
The United States has averaged a solid 234,000 new jobs a month over the last year. On Friday, the Labor Department is expected to report that employers added another 180,000 jobs, according to a survey of forecasters by the data firm FactSet.
The unemployment rate is expected to come in at 3.9%, which would be the 28th straight month it’s been below 4%.
Still, high rates are taking a toll. Consumer spending, which accounts for 70% of U.S. economic activity, kept growing but at a slower annual pace — 2%, down from 3.3% in the last three months of 2023.
Source: ABC News
