JOLT job openings for September 10.717M vs 10.000M estimate | Forexlive

• Prior month 10.053M vs 10.775M est. The decline last month was the largest one month drop on record. The prior month was revised up to 10.280M
• JOLTs job openings higher than expectations at 10.717M vs. 10.000M
• job openings were up 6.5% month on month. It was down -0.8% vs. it’s a peak in March 2022
• largest increases came in accommodation and food services at +215,000. Healthcare and social assistance rose by 115,000 and transportation warehousing and utilities increased by 111,000.
• Decreases came in wholesale trade at -104,000 and in finance and insurance -83,000
• Hires edged down 6.1 million
• total separations came in at 5.7 million down 370,000 on the month or -3.7%
• Quits came in little changed at 4.1 million. The quits rate is thought to be a barometer for the strength of the labor market as a quit because they tend to have another job lined up. The quits rate was at 2.7% for the 3rd month in a row signaling steady.
• layoffs and discharges edged down to 1.3 million

For the full report from the BLS click here.

Overall the JOLTs report is not good news for the Fed as they fight inflation . Inflation is not dead and strong employment has potential to keep inflation elevated for an extended period time. The good news is that the ISM prices paid index fell below the 50 level to 46.6. That was well below the expected 52.5.

Looking at the chart above, the number of job openings remains near all-time high levels.

The Fed is expected to raise rates by 75 basis points when they announce a decision tomorrow 2 PM. There is one more meeting in December with expectations of a 50 basis point hike.