Aug. 1 (UPI) — U.S. policies aimed at slowing the economy appear to be taking effect, with a federal report Tuesday showing the number of job openings in June fell to its lowest in more than a year.
The Labor Department’s Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey showed little change in overall job creation for June. Job openings, which reflect demand for new labor, fell 34,000 to 9.6 million on the last business day of June, the lowest since April 2021.
Job openings increased primarily in the social assistance and healthcare sectors, with openings increasing by 136,000 relative to May. Transportation, warehousing and utilities saw the largest decline at 78,000.
The number of people who quit a job in June decreased by 295,000 to 3.8 million, showing more people are willing to stay put once they found a job. The largest decrease in resignations was in retail trades, as well as healthcare and social assistance.
Total non-farm payrolls increased by 209,000 in June, supported by new hires in government, healthcare and construction. For the first half of 2023, non-farm employment grew by an average of 278,000 per month, a decline from the monthly average of 399,000 jobs in 2022, the Labor Department said.
President Joe Biden, who has been pushing his administration’s economic policy, said June data showed that his plan was “in action” with a total of 13.2 million jobs added since he took office in 2021.
New hires should be a concern for a Federal Reserve working to slow the economy through successive rate hikes, though long-term data show the Fed’s policy may be starting to work as intended.
Consumer confidence is on the rise, despite lingering inflationary pressures, and the latest reading on gross domestic product showed a better-than-expected performance, suggesting the world’s leading economy will avoid a recession this year.
The Federal Reserve last month erred on the side of caution, however, by announcing a rate hike of 25 basis points, leaving the range for the federal funds rate at a 22-year high of between 5.25% and 5.5%.
In a statement following the announcement, the Fed said it “seeks to achieve maximum employment,” the highest level of employment that a given economy can sustain without creating higher inflation. More jobs mean more cash, which incentivizes demand and drives prices higher.
