Despite the significant decrease, there were still 1.8 available jobs for every worker in the labour force.
Despite the significant drop, there were still 1.8 unfilled positions for every worker that was available.
The number of job opportunities fell to its lowest level since September 2021 in June, which is a potential sign that a labour market that has been extraordinarily tight is starting to decline.
According to the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey that was released on Tuesday by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the total number of employment openings dropped to about 10.7 million as of the last day of June. This represents a drop of 605,000 positions, or 5.4 percent, from the previous month’s total.
According to the data provided by FactSet, the markets were expecting openings of 11.14 million.
In spite of the significant drop, there were still 1.8 unfilled jobs for every worker that was available, with the overall gap coming in at nearly 4.8 million.
In addition, hiring slowed down during the month, falling 2 percent to 6.37 million, while the number of quits, which is a signal of worker mobility and confidence, was relatively unchanged but still a significant distance below the record levels observed earlier in the year.
The number of people who separated from their partners also decreased, coming up at 5.93 million, a decrease of 1.4%.
When determining how the labour market will develop in the future and how it will impact interest rates, officials from the Federal Reserve pay particular attention to the figures from the JOLTs report.
In an effort to rein in inflation, which is currently running at its highest level since November 1981, the Federal Reserve has implemented a total of four interest rate hikes this year, which add up to a total of 2.25 percentage points.
The number of people employed in nonfarm settings increased by 372,000 in June, while the unemployment rate remained unchanged at 3.6 percent. On Friday, the data for July will be released, and according to a study conducted by Dow Jones, economists expect a gain of 258,000 jobs.
