US job openings tick up in May; hiring still soft

[WASHINGTON] US job openings edged up in May while hiring remained weak, suggesting the labour market remained in a holding pattern despite three straight months of strong job gains.

Job openings, a measure of labour demand, had increased 9,000 to 7.594 million by the last day of May, the Labor Department’s Bureau of Labor Statistics said in its Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey, or JOLTS report, on Tuesday (Jun 30).

Data for April was revised lower to show 7.585 million unfilled positions instead of the previously reported 7.618 million. The bulk of job openings in April occurred in the professional and business services industry and at businesses with fewer than 10 employees. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast 7.30 million vacancies in May.

The job openings rate was unchanged at 4.6 per cent. Hiring fell by 45,000 to 5.170 million last month, but the rate held steady at 3.3 per cent. The economy has notched three consecutive months of strong job growth, raising optimism that the labour market is regaining speed after stumbling in 2025.

Some of the strength in job gains reflects fewer layoffs and resignations.

Layoffs and discharges increased by 41,000 to a still-low 1.708 million in May, with the rate edging up to 1.1 per cent from 1.0 per cent in April. The closely watched US employment report for June, due on Thursday, is projected to show a gain of 110,000 jobs last month after an increase of 172,000 in May, according to a Reuters survey of economists.

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The unemployment rate is forecast to hold steady at 4.3 per cent for a fourth straight month. Financial markets expect the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates this year to fight inflation stoked by the US-Israeli war with Iran. The US central bank this month left its benchmark overnight interest rate in the 3.50 per cent-3.75 per cent range, but updated quarterly projections showed policymakers expected to raise borrowing costs this year. REUTERS