FX.co ★ Job openings in US increase in November

According to the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS), the number of positions waiting to be filled in the US rose to 5.52 million with the hiring rate at 3.6%.

Meanwhile, analysts had predicted hiring to increase to 5.5 million. The number of job openings in the private sector was almost unchanged, but hiring in the government sector rose significantly. The non-farm sector added 156,000 new jobs, more than forecasts of increase of 178,000.
Hires were little changed at 5.219 million, up from 5.160 million in October.

Jobs in retail trade experienced a decline by 71,000. Layoffs rose to 1.64 million in November from 1.57 million in a prior month.

“The pace of labor market improvement is ebbing,” Michael Gregory, deputy chief economist at BMO Capital Markets, said in a note before the report. This is confirmed by continuing rise in the US unemployment rate. In December it was 4.7%, in line with analysts’ expectations.

According to forecasts of the Trump administration, the pace of US GDP growth could accelerate as a result of the fiscal stimulus, thus boosting inflation.