WASHINGTON — The supply of jobs in the United States fell in May, but remains at levels high enough to illustrate the resilience of the labor market in the face of the sharp rise in interest rates.
Employers posted 9.8 million job openings in May, compared with 10.3 million in April, the Labor Department reported Thursday. But layoffs have slowed, and more people have quit their jobs, a sign that they are confident of finding better wages or working conditions elsewhere.
Job openings remain record high despite the Federal Reserve’s aggressive campaign to cool the job market and slow the economy to combat inflation that last year hit its highest level in four decades, the Fed has raised its reference interest rate 10 times from March 2022.
Borrowing costs have hit the economy: growth has slowed and the supply of jobs is down from its peak of 12 million in March 2022, the record since statistics have been kept. Consumer prices rose 4% from a year earlier, less than the annual peak of 9.1% in June 2022, but double the Fed’s 2% target.
Economists have long predicted that the United States would slide into recession this year. But the strength of the labor market casts doubt on whether such a decline is inevitable.
Businesses have created 314,000 jobs so far this year, and the unemployment rate, at 3.7% in May, is nearing its lowest point in half a century.
The Labor Department will release its employment report for June on Friday. Forecasters interviewed by the firm FactSet say payrolls rose by 205,000 last year and unemployment fell to 3.6%.
FUENTE: With information from AP
