Bloomberg News reports that US jobs opening surged in April unexpectedly, manifesting resilience in the labor market in America. This has occurred even though the Federal Reserve has been trying to cool off the economy in its battle to tame inflation.
What about Employers?
Employers posted as many as 10.1 million job vacancies in the previous month. This figure was up from March’s 9.7 million and the maximum recorded in January. On the other hand, the economists expected the figure to be way below the 9.5 million mark.
There was a drop in layoffs. But the number of people leaving their current jobs to explore greener pastures plunged last month. Meanwhile, the Fed has increased its benchmark interest rate by almost 10 times in the past 14 months. This scenario has made it even more difficult for businesses to avail of loans, access credit, and invest. It is expected that the Central Bank is planning to achieve what is called a soft landing. As such, rates will be raised enough so that hiring is slowed and there is an increase in economic growth and price increase without stirring the country, the largest economy in the world, from slipping into a recession.
Bloomberg News reports that with economists being skeptical, many expect a recession in the country towards the latter part of the year.
How Did Inflation Tread?
From an all-time high in decades, inflation has slid steadily by the middle of 2022. However, consumer prices still escalated by 4.0% in April compared to just one year earlier. This figure was well above the Fed’s 2 percent year-on-year target.
Recruitment decreased after posting the best two-year records in 2021 and 2022. It was found that through April, as many as 666,000 jobs were added from February. It was the conventional standard. However, it was still the weakest 3 months related to job creation since January 2021.
A resilient consumer spending coupled with a wave comprising retirements since the Covid-19 pandemic adversely impacted the economy at the beginning of 2020. This has led to a tight labor market. The unemployment rate dropped to 3.4% in April, tying the same to a 54-year low. Bloomberg News reports that the Labor Department will post job figures on Friday.
