Job openings climbed to 10.1 million in April from an upwardly revised 9.745 million the month before, according to labor turnover data released Wednesday by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Economists were expecting 9.375 million job openings, according to consensus estimates on Refinitiv. The Federal Reserve wants to see more slack in the labor market, since an imbalance between worker demand and supply could cause wages to rise and, ultimately, add upward pressure to inflation .
surprise to the upside signals that the loosening of the labor market likely won’t occur dramatically but rather occur on a bumpy path, Martin wrote. “While there are some concerns over the veracity of the JOLTS survey due to historically low response rates, the upshot remains that labor market strength remains robust,” he wrote. “That will leave the Fed on pause through the end of the year as officials look to ensure a cooling in jobs demand.