The number of job openings in the United States rose in August, raising questions about whether the job market is slowing to accommodate the Federal Reserve as the central bank considers raising interest rates to control inflation.
The Jobs and Employment Outlook, or JOLTS, report, released on Tuesday, showed that there were 9.6 million jobs open at the end of August, an increase from the 8.83 million jobs that were open in July. Economists interviewed expected that there would be 8.82 million job openings in July.
The report also showed a drop in the quit rate, which is noted by the economy because a high quit rate is considered a sign of confidence among workers. In August, the unemployment rate remained unchanged at 2.3%, the lowest since January 2021. The JOLTS report showed that 5.9 million new jobs were filled during the month, a slight increase from the 5.8 million that were filled last month.
The focus is also on jobs data due out on Friday with expectations that the September jobs report will show that there were 170,000 jobs added to the economy last month, with the unemployment rate expected to rise to 3.8%.
