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WASHINGTON, Oct. 4 (AP) The number of available U.S. jobs fell sharply in August compared with July, a sign that businesses may further cut hiring and could cool chronically high inflation.
There were 10.1 million job advertisements on the last day of August, the government said on Tuesday, down 10 percent from July’s 11.2 million job openings. Job openings reached a record level of nearly 11.9 million in March.
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Layoffs increased in August but remained at historically low levels. Slightly more people quit.
The sharp drop in job openings will be welcomed by the Fed.
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Fed officials see high job openings as a sign of strong labor demand, forcing employers to steadily raise wages to attract and retain workers.
Continued small wage increases should ease inflationary pressures.
In response to the worst inflation in 40 years, the central bank has sharply raised its key short-term interest rate to a range of 3% to 3.25% from near zero in March.
Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell and other Fed officials hope their rate hikes — the fastest in about 40 years — will cause employers to halt their efforts to hire more people. In turn, fewer job vacancies can ease pressure on companies to raise wages to attract and retain workers.
Tuesday’s data comes in the same week as key reports on employment and the unemployment rate due on Friday. Economists forecast that would show employers added 250,000 jobs in September, with the unemployment rate holding at 3.7% for the second straight month. (Associated Press)
(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from the Syndicated News feed, the body of the content may not have been modified or edited by LatestLY staff)
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