New labor data for August suggested that the worst might be in the past. The labor market continued to rebound on the month after bottoming out in May and June.
With trade uncertainty beginning to fade, businesses have more clarity on expansion and have increased hiring plans, according to job openings data released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics on Tuesday.
While the uptick in job openings, a proxy for labor demand, was modest in August, layoffs also dropped.
The data implied a relatively solid month for job gains in September, which is scheduled to be released on Friday unless the federal government shuts down.
There are reasons to believe that without any new shock to the economy, the labor market should continue to pick up beyond this year as the tailwinds from easing fiscal and monetary policies filter through the economy.
That being said, downside risks to the labor market remain. The overall market is still fragile, and another shock to the economy might derail the improvement in the past two months.
The data
Highlights from Tuesday’s data:
- Job openings rose to 7.227 million from 7.208 million in the prior month.
- Layoffs fell to 1.725 million from 1.787 million.
- Quits also fell in August, down to 3.091 million from 3.166 million.
- Hiring slowed down to 5.126 million from 5.24 million.
Job openings remained higher than the pandemic level for small firms with fewer than 10 employees.
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