US job openings edge lower in June, labour resilience underpinning economy

U.S. job openings fell marginally in June and data for the prior month was revised higher, pointing to continued labour resilience that is underpinning the economy.
 

Job openings, a measure of labour demand, had dropped 46,000 to 8.184 mn by the last day of June, the Labour Department's Bureau of Labour Statistics said in its Job Openings and Labour Turnover Survey, or JOLTS report, on Tuesday.
 

Data for May was revised higher to show 8.230 mn unfilled positions instead of the previously reported 8.140 mn. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast 8.0 mn job openings in June.
 

Job openings have been steadily declining since hitting a record 12.182 mn in March 2022 as demand moderates in response to the Federal Reserve's aggressive interest rate hikes.
 

A loosening labour market adds to subsiding inflation in building the case for the U.S. central bank to begin cutting rates in September. Fed officials started a two-day policy meeting on Tuesday and are expected to leave the central bank's benchmark overnight interest rate in the 5.25 per cent-5.50 per cent range, where it has been since last July.
 

The Fed has hiked its policy rate by 525 basis points since March 2022 to tame inflation.

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