US Labour Market Remains Resilient As Job Openings Climb, Layoffs Drop  

• U.S. job openings unexpectedly rose in April and data for the prior month was revised higher, pointing to persistent strength in the labour market that could compel the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates again in June.
• The Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey, or JOLTS report, from the Labor Department on Wednesday also showed that the number of layoffs declined significantly last month. There were 1.8 job openings for every unemployed person in April, up from 1.7 in March, and well above the 1.0-1.2 range which is considered consistent with a jobs market that is not generating too much inflation.
• Demand has remained resilient despite 500 basis points worth of interest rate increases from the Fed since March 2022, when the U.S. central bank embarked on its fastest monetary policy tightening campaign since the 1980s to tame inflation. The flow of strong data has diminished expectations that the Fed could pause further rate increases next month.
• Despite the strong demand for labour, workers are growing less confident, leading to fewer resignations. The quits rate, viewed as a measure of labour market confidence, fell to 2.4% from 2.5% in March. That aligns with a Conference Board survey on Tuesday that showed the share of people viewing jobs as "plentiful" dropped in May to the lowest level since April 2021.

(Source: Reuters)