JOLTS job openings set to show a steady US labor market at the end of 2024
NEW YORK (February 4) The Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) will be released on Tuesday by the United States (US) Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). The publication will provide data about the change in the number of job openings in December, alongside the number of layoffs and quits.
JOLTS data is scrutinized by market participants and Federal Reserve (Fed) policymakers because it can provide valuable insights into the supply-demand dynamics in the labor market, a key factor impacting salaries and inflation. Job openings have been declining steadily since coming in above 12 million in March 2022, indicating a steady cooldown in labor market conditions. In September, the number of jobs declined to 7.44 million, marking the lowest reading since January 2021, before rising to 7.8 million and 8.09 million in October and November, respectively.
What to expect in the next JOLTS report?
Markets expect job openings to be around 8 million on the last business day of December. Following the January policy meeting, the Federal Reserve (Fed) noted that economic activity has been expanding at a solid pace, with the unemployment rate stabilizing at low levels and labor market conditions staying robust. In the post-meeting press conference, Fed Chairman Jerome Powell said that the labor market seemed to be broadly in balance.
It is important to note that while the JOLTS data refers to the end of December, the official Employment report, which will be released on Friday, measures data for January.
In December, Nonfarm Payrolls (NFP) rose by 256,000, surpassing the market expectation for an increase of 160,000 by a wide margin. Commenting on the employment situation in the US, Chicago Fed President Austan Goolsbee said: “We will have to process if retail gains were a strong holiday season or something more general.” He added that he does not see the job market as a source of inflation.
The CME FedWatch Tool currently shows that markets are pricing in a less-than-15% probability of a 25 basis points (bps) rate cut in March. Although the job openings data is unlikely to influence the Fed rate outlook, a significant negative surprise, with a reading at or below 7 million, could weigh on the US Dollar (USD) with the immediate reaction. On the other hand, the market positioning suggests that the USD doesn’t have a lot of room on the upside even if the data comes in better than forecast.
"Over the month, hires and total separations were little changed at 5.3 million and 5.1 million, respectively," the BLS said in its November JOLTS report. "Within separations, quits (3.1 million) decreased, but layoffs and discharges (1.8 million) changed little."
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