Job openings fell slightly in June from the previous month amid signs of a slowdown in the labor market.
New data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Data released Tuesday showed 8.18 million jobs were available at the end of June, down from 8.23 million in May. The May figure was revised up from the 8.14 million job openings initially reported. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg had expected the report to show 8 million job openings in June.
The Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) also showed 5.3 million people were employed during the month, down slightly from May’s revised 5.7 million. The employment rate fell to 3.4% from 3.6% in May.
The resignation rate, a measure of confidence among workers, also fell to 2.1% for the second straight month in Tuesday’s report. There were 3.28 million resignations in June, down from 3.4 million in May and 3.28 million in June. Lowest number of resignations in a single month since November 2020.
The data comes as the labor market has become more focused over the past few weeks. The rise in weekly jobless claims and the persistently high unemployment rate have economists worried that cracks may be forming under what had been seen as a strong labor market. Following Tuesday’s data, former U.S. Labor Secretary Seth Harris told Yahoo Finance that the recent decline in turnover suggests that workers “feel less secure that if they leave their jobs, they will be able to find another job.”
This is one of the early signs of “disturbance” in the labor market data, Harris said, and one reason he believes the Fed should cut interest rates when it announces its next policy decision on Wednesday.
But Harris is not alone in this view, as several economists have suggested in recent months that the central bank should start cutting interest rates before signs of a slowdown in the labor market become severe.
But that’s not expected to be the outcome of the central bank’s meeting, which begins on Tuesday. Markets are currently pricing in just a 4% chance of a rate cut on Wednesday, with many believing Fed Chair Jerome Powell will use his press conference to lay the groundwork for a rate cut in September.
The JOLTS report is the first in a series of key labor market data releases this week. Friday’s July jobs report is expected to show the U.S. economy added 175,000 nonfarm jobs, with the unemployment rate holding steady at 4.1%, according to data from Bloomberg.
Josh Schaffer is a reporter at Yahoo Finance. You can follow him on X @_Joshshafer.
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