The U.S. job openings increased in July which is in line with the reports of a strong increase in the demand for labor. This allows the Federal Reserve the necessary cover to keep up with the aggressive interest rate increases implemented.
The Labor Department’s Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey, or JOLTS report, on Tuesday, showed that in the current market there are two job openings for every unemployed person this past month. There are also reports of tight labor market conditions. Fears regarding an economic recession persist after two straight quarterly declines in gross domestic product.
Christopher Rupkey, the chief economist at FWDBONDS in New York, said that “The Fed has front-loaded its monetary restraint this year to an unprecedented degree and the economy isn’t giving them any reason to hold back.” However, he maintained that the economy is strong and that unemployment statistics show double the jobs for every unemployed person.
Job openings increased to 11.239 million on the last day of July. According to the revised data from June the job openings in that year were reportedly 11.040 million instead of the previously estimated 10.698 million.
There were also 81,000 job openings in the transportation, warehousing, and utility industries last month. In the arts, entertainment, and recreation sector the job openings increased by 53,000. At the same time, the federal government had 47,000 more openings and state and local government education had an additional 42,000 unfilled jobs.
However, in the durable goods manufacturing industry, the job openings faced a decrease of 47,000. The Fed is trying to slow the demand for labor to help inflation reach the desirable 2%.
