US May Job Openings at 7.594 Million Top Forecasts

U.S. job openings in May exceeded market expectations.

The Labor Department said in its Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey, or JOLTS, released June 30 that job openings totaled 7.594 million in May. That topped economists’ forecast of 7.28 million. The prior month’s reading was revised down slightly to about 7.6 million from 7.618 million.

In a statement, the department said May job openings were little changed from the prior month at about 7.6 million. The job openings rate was unchanged at 4.6%.

Hiring was little changed at 5.2 million, and the hiring rate held at 3.3%. Total separations stood at 5.1 million, with the separations rate at 3.2%.

Quits were little changed at 3.1 million, while the quits rate was 1.9%. Layoffs and discharges were unchanged at 1.7 million, and the rate was 1.1%.

By industry, job openings in wholesale trade increased by 71,000. Hiring rose by 11,000 in the federal government. Layoffs and discharges fell by 42,000 in arts, entertainment and recreation.

JOLTS is a gauge of labor demand and worker turnover in the U.S. economy. Job openings that remain above expectations can be interpreted as a sign that labor-market cooling remains limited.

The data came ahead of the release of the U.S. June employment report. If the labor market remains more resilient than expected, it could affect the Federal Reserve’s rate path and sentiment toward risk assets.

Bitcoin (BTC) briefly reclaimed $59,000 immediately after the data release. As of 11:06 p.m., BTC was trading at $59,022 on Binance's USDT market, down 0.54% from a day earlier.