U.S. jobs fell sharply in April, consistent with a cooling labor market

foreign exchange documentary platform- Job openings in the United States fell to their lowest level in more than three years in April, consistent with a gradual slowdown in the labor market.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' Job Vacancies and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS), released on Tuesday (June 4), showed jobs fell to 8.06 million from a downward revision of 8.36 million last month. The figure was lower than all estimates by economists surveyed by Bloomberg.

The drop helped bring the number of job openings per unemployed worker, a rate closely watched by the Federal Reserve, to its lowest level in nearly three years.

The pullback was considerable. Job vacancies in healthcare fell to their lowest level in three years, while those in manufacturing fell to their lowest level since late 2020. Demand for government jobs also weakened.

Vacancies also fell in the lodging and foodservice sector, likely reflecting California's higher minimum wage requirements. Hiring in the sector fell to its lowest level since the epidemic began.

Recent data suggest that the labor market is cooling, but gradually by slowing hiring rather than outright layoffs, a trend that Fed officials hope will continue to control demand and contain inflation without putting millions of people out of work.

Hiring and redundancy rates were unchanged, and while layoffs remain historically low, the pace of hiring has slowed, suggesting companies are comfortable with their staffing levels meeting demand.

The so-called quit rate, which measures the number of people leaving voluntarily, remained at its lowest level since 2020. The recent decline may indicate that people are sticking with their current jobs because they lack confidence in their ability to find a new one.

The ratio of job openings to the unemployed fell to 1.2, the lowest level since June 2021. The number, which Fed officials closely monitor, has fallen sharply over the past year. At its peak in 2022, the ratio was 2:1.

"The ratio is now roughly in line with pre-epidemic levels," Bloomberg Economics said. "Given the rate of decline in job openings, we expect to reach 2019 vacancy levels by the end of this summer."

The monthly jobs report, which is expected to be released later this Friday, will show that the United States added 185,000 jobs in May and the unemployment rate remained stable.

Some economists have questioned the reliability of the JOLTS statistics, in part because of the survey's low response rate.