Still, the labor market remains tight, with the monthly Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey, or JOLTS report, from the Labor Department on Tuesday showing 1.6 vacancies for every unemployed person in March. That was the lowest reading since October 2021 and compared to 1.7 in February.
"The decline in the ratio of job vacancies to unemployment in the last three months represents a reduction in the excess demand for labor that will be welcomed by the Fed," said Conrad DeQuadros, senior economic advisor at Brean Capital in New York. The decline in March was concentrated in small businesses, those with one to 49 employees, the main drivers of the labor market's phenomenal growth. There were 144,000 fewer vacancies in the transportation, warehousing and utilities industry.
Stocks on Wall Street were trading lower as investors focused on a warning by Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen that the federal government could run out of money within a month amid a standoff to raise its $31.4 trillion borrowing cap. The dollar fell against a basket of currencies. U.S. Treasury prices rose.Hiring was little changed at 6.1 million, keeping the hiring rate unchanged at 4.0%.
Accommodation and food services lost 63,000 jobs, while the health care and social assistance category reported 42,000 layoffs. Employment in the leisure and hospitality sector remains below it's pre-pandemic levels.