Employers increased their job openings more than expected in April, according to a report on Tuesday, showing a relatively stable labor market.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics Jobs and Work Retraction Survey shows that the total number of available jobs is nearly 7.4 million, an increase of 191,000 since March, up from the economists’ consensus forecast of 7.1 million. On an annual basis, the level was 228,000, or about 3%.
The ratio of available jobs to unemployed workers fell from 1.03 to 1 in months close to March levels.
Employment also increased that month, up from 169,000 to 5.6 million, while layoffs increased from 196,000 to 1.79 million.
If they quit, it was an indicator of workers’ confidence in their ability to find another job, down from 150,000 to 3.2 million.
“Despite the uncertainty of macro outlook, the labor market is back to a more normal level,” writes Jeffrey Roach, chief economist at LPL Research. “The fundamental patterns of employment and firing suggest that the labour market is stable.”
This report will be made several days before BLS non-farm salary numbers in May.
Other signs, particularly sentiment data, show jobs softer, so economists expect employment growth of 125,000, which shows a solid labor market, down from 177,000 in April. The unemployment rate is expected to remain stable at 4.2%.
In other economic news on Tuesday, the Commerce Department reported that new orders for manufactured goods fell more than expected in April. Orders fell 3.7% that month, surpassing Dow Jones’ forecasts of over 3.3% in March, indicating a decline in demand after inflated 3.4% in March.
Also, shipping fell by 0.3%, but unreleased orders were relatively flat, with stock falling by 0.1%.
Federal Reserve officials are closely looking at various data points for clues about how various factors are affecting the broader economic situation. We fear that tariffs will raise inflation and slow adoption, but that has not yet appeared in hard data. In contrast, emotional research shows an increasing fear of both.
“For many sectors, we haven’t heard of the labour market materially changing,” Atlanta Industry President Raphael Bostic said in a scrum with a reporter on Tuesday. “At a macro level, I’m not like a strong, inclusive picture or impression that things are moving in a critical way. I need to see if it stays or if something changes.”
Traders are primarily expecting the Fed to stabilize its benchmark borrowing rates in the range of 4.25% to 4.5% from December 2024. The market believes the Fed won’t cut again until September, and Bostic says it will only support one cut this year.
Corrected: The layoffs rose from 196,000 to 1.79 million that month. Previous versions mischaracterized the changes. Rafael Bostic is the president of the Atlanta Federal Reserve. Previous versions had his name wrong.
