Breaking: US JOLTS Job openings decline to 7.6 million in December vs. 8 million forecast
The number of job openings on the last business day of December stood at 7.6 million, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported in the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) on Tuesday. This reading followed the 8.09 million (revised from 8.15 million) openings announced in November and came in below the market expectation of 8 million.
"Over the month, hires and total separations were little changed at 5.5 million and 5.3 million, respectively. Within separations, quits (3.2 million) and layoffs and discharges (1.8 million) changed little," the BLS noted in its press release.
Market reaction to JOLTS Job Openings data
The US Dollar came under renewed selling pressure after this data. The US Dollar Index was last seen losing 0.26% on the day at 108.15.
US Dollar PRICE Today
The table below shows the percentage change of US Dollar (USD) against listed major currencies today. US Dollar was the weakest against the Canadian Dollar.
| USD | EUR | GBP | JPY | CAD | AUD | NZD | CHF | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| USD | -0.70% | -0.48% | 0.03% | -1.46% | -0.85% | -0.77% | -0.68% | |
| EUR | 0.70% | 0.23% | 0.74% | -0.76% | -0.14% | -0.06% | 0.02% | |
| GBP | 0.48% | -0.23% | 0.52% | -0.99% | -0.37% | -0.29% | -0.20% | |
| JPY | -0.03% | -0.74% | -0.52% | -1.49% | -0.88% | -0.80% | -0.70% | |
| CAD | 1.46% | 0.76% | 0.99% | 1.49% | 0.62% | 0.70% | 0.80% | |
| AUD | 0.85% | 0.14% | 0.37% | 0.88% | -0.62% | 0.08% | 0.20% | |
| NZD | 0.77% | 0.06% | 0.29% | 0.80% | -0.70% | -0.08% | 0.09% | |
| CHF | 0.68% | -0.02% | 0.20% | 0.70% | -0.80% | -0.20% | -0.09% |
The heat map shows percentage changes of major currencies against each other. The base currency is picked from the left column, while the quote currency is picked from the top row. For example, if you pick the US Dollar from the left column and move along the horizontal line to the Japanese Yen, the percentage change displayed in the box will represent USD (base)/JPY (quote).
This section below was published as a preview of the US JOLTS Job Openings data at 09:00 GMT.
- The US JOLTS data will be watched closely ahead of the release of the January employment report on Friday.
- Job openings are forecast to reach 8 million in December.
- The state of the labor market is a key factor for Fed officials when setting policy.
The Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) will be released on Tuesday by the United States (US) Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). The publication will provide data about the change in the number of job openings in December, alongside the number of layoffs and quits.
JOLTS data is scrutinized by market participants and Federal Reserve (Fed) policymakers because it can provide valuable insights into the supply-demand dynamics in the labor market, a key factor impacting salaries and inflation. Job openings have been declining steadily since coming in above 12 million in March 2022, indicating a steady cooldown in labor market conditions. In September, the number of jobs declined to 7.44 million, marking the lowest reading since January 2021, before rising to 7.8 million and 8.09 million in October and November, respectively.
What to expect in the next JOLTS report?
Markets expect job openings to be around 8 million on the last business day of December. Following the January policy meeting, the Federal Reserve (Fed) noted that economic activity has been expanding at a solid pace, with the unemployment rate stabilizing at low levels and labor market conditions staying robust. In the post-meeting press conference, Fed Chairman Jerome Powell said that the labor market seemed to be broadly in balance.
It is important to note that while the JOLTS data refers to the end of December, the official Employment report, which will be released on Friday, measures data for January.
In December, Nonfarm Payrolls (NFP) rose by 256,000, surpassing the market expectation for an increase of 160,000 by a wide margin. Commenting on the employment situation in the US, Chicago Fed President Austan Goolsbee said: “We will have to process if retail gains were a strong holiday season or something more general.” He added that he does not see the job market as a source of inflation.
The CME FedWatch Tool currently shows that markets are pricing in a less-than-15% probability of a 25 basis points (bps) rate cut in March. Although the job openings data is unlikely to influence the Fed rate outlook, a significant negative surprise, with a reading at or below 7 million, could weigh on the US Dollar (USD) with the immediate reaction. On the other hand, the market positioning suggests that the USD doesn’t have a lot of room on the upside even if the data comes in better than forecast.
"Over the month, hires and total separations were little changed at 5.3 million and 5.1 million, respectively," the BLS said in its November JOLTS report. "Within separations, quits (3.1 million) decreased, but layoffs and discharges (1.8 million) changed little."
When will the JOLTS report be released and how could it affect EUR/USD?
Job opening numbers will be published on Tuesday at 15:00 GMT. Eren Sengezer, European Session Lead Analyst at FXStreet, shares his technical outlook for EUR/USD:
“EUR/USD returned within the descending regression channel coming from late September after failing to stabilize above its upper limit. Additionally, the Relative Strength Index (RSI) indicator on the daily chart dropped below 40, reflecting a buildup of bearish momentum.”
On the downside, 1.0200 (mid-point of the descending channel) aligns as immediate support before 1.0100 (round level) and 1.0000 (psychological level, lower limit of the ascending channel). Looking north, first resistance could be spotted at 1.0400 (50-day Simple Moving Average (SMA), upper limit of the descending channel) before 1.0500 (static level) and 1.0640 (100-day SMA).”
Employment FAQs
Labor market conditions are a key element to assess the health of an economy and thus a key driver for currency valuation. High employment, or low unemployment, has positive implications for consumer spending and thus economic growth, boosting the value of the local currency. Moreover, a very tight labor market – a situation in which there is a shortage of workers to fill open positions – can also have implications on inflation levels and thus monetary policy as low labor supply and high demand leads to higher wages.
The pace at which salaries are growing in an economy is key for policymakers. High wage growth means that households have more money to spend, usually leading to price increases in consumer goods. In contrast to more volatile sources of inflation such as energy prices, wage growth is seen as a key component of underlying and persisting inflation as salary increases are unlikely to be undone. Central banks around the world pay close attention to wage growth data when deciding on monetary policy.
The weight that each central bank assigns to labor market conditions depends on its objectives. Some central banks explicitly have mandates related to the labor market beyond controlling inflation levels. The US Federal Reserve (Fed), for example, has the dual mandate of promoting maximum employment and stable prices. Meanwhile, the European Central Bank’s (ECB) sole mandate is to keep inflation under control. Still, and despite whatever mandates they have, labor market conditions are an important factor for policymakers given its significance as a gauge of the health of the economy and their direct relationship to inflation.
Author
FXStreet Team
FXStreet
