Overview
- The Labor Department's JOLTS report on Tuesday showed job openings rose by about 731,000 to roughly 7.62 million, the highest level since May 2024.
- Hiring fell in April to about 5.12 million and the hires rate dropped to roughly 3.2 percent, while layoffs declined to historically low levels and quits hit multi-year lows.
- Nearly all of April's increase in openings—about 668,000—came from the professional and business services sector, raising questions about how broad the demand pickup is.
- ADP's private payrolls report on Wednesday found employers added 122,000 jobs in May with gains in eight of ten sectors, suggesting modest, broad-based hiring going into the summer.
- Markets and economists say the mixed data, plus higher energy-driven inflation from the U.S.-Israel–Iran conflict, make the Fed likely to pause on rate moves and put heavy focus on Friday's official BLS May report.