The US Dollar strengthened against its currency counterparts, immediately causing the US Dollar Index to reach its highest level since November 2022. At the time of writing, the index had risen by 0.25% to reach 107.28 for the day.
According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the number of job openings on the last business day of August was reported at 9.6 million in the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) on Tuesday. This figure marked a significant increase from the revised July data of 8.9 million (previously reported as 8.8 million) and surpassed market expectations, which were estimated at 8.8 million.
The BLS also noted in its press release that over the course of the month, there was minimal change in the number of hires and total separations, which stood at 5.9 million and 5.7 million, respectively. Specifically, within the category of separations, quits remained at 3.6 million, while layoffs and discharges also experienced minimal change, totaling 1.7 million.
On Tuesday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average experienced a sharp decline of over 300 points, largely attributed to the premature release of August’s JOLTS data. Concurrently, Cathie Wood’s Ark Invest ETFs divested nearly $4 million worth of Nvidia stock.
The Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) conducted by the Labor Department revealed a surprising increase to 9.61 million in August. This was contrary to expectations, as analysts had anticipated a decline to 8.75 million compared to July’s figure of 8.827 million.
According to BLS data, despite the rise in job openings, there are still 1.5 open jobs for every unemployed person looking for one due to the increase in people entering the labor force in August. The number of jobs per job seeker is still more than it was before the pandemic, when it averaged between 1 and 1.2, even though it is down from the 1.7 recorded at this time last year.
Of the 51 metropolitan areas with a 2010 Census population of 1 million or more, Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD, had the lowest jobless rate in August, 1.8 percent. Las Vegas-Henderson-Paradise, NV, had the highest rate, 6.1 percent. Twenty-seven large areas had over-the-year unemployment rate increases, 23 had decreases, and 1 had no change. The largest rate increase was in San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA (+1.2 percentage points). The largest jobless rate decline occurred in Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD (-1.7 percentage points).
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CWEB News Summarized Business and Stock Newsletter October 4, 2023
