WASHINGTON: U.S. job openings unexpectedly increased in May, but a decline in hiring added to signs that the labor market had shifted into lower gear amid uncertainty over the Trump administration’s tariffs on imports, with a 90-day pause on higher reciprocal duties drawing to an end.
Job openings, a measure of labor demand, were up 374,000 to 7.769 million by the last day of May, the Labor Department’s Bureau of Labor Statistics said in its Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey, or JOLTS report, on Tuesday.
Economists polled by Reuters had forecast 7.30 million vacancies. Hiring decreased by 112,000 to 5.503 million in May. Layoffs dropped 188,000 to 1.601 million.
Economists say the lack of clarity on what happens after July 9, when the 90-day pause on President Donald Trump’s reciprocal tariffs expires, had left businesses unable to make long-term plans. A 90-day temporary reduction in tariffs between the U.S. and China is due to end in mid-August.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Monday that trade partners could still face sharply higher tariffs next Wednesday, adding that any potential negotiating extensions will be up to Trump, who hinted that Japan may soon be notified of higher import duties.
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Data last week showed a surge in the number of people collecting unemployment checks to more than a 3-1/2-year high in mid-June. A survey from the Conference Board showed the share of consumers who viewed jobs as being “plentiful” dropped to the lowest level in more than four years in June.
Economists polled by Reuters expect the government’s closely watched employment report on Thursday to show the jobless rate increased to 4.3% in June from 4.2% in May. Nonfarm payrolls are forecast to rise by 110,000 jobs after advancing by 139,000 in May. The employment report is being published a day early because of the Independence Day holiday on Friday.
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