U.S. job openings rise in July amid still tight labor market

WASHINGTON, Aug. 30 (Xinhua) -- The number of job openings in the United States rose to 11.2 million by the end of July, as the imbalances between labor market supply and demand remain, the U.S. Labor Department reported Tuesday.

The largest increases in job openings were in transportation, warehousing, and utilities, with a gain of 81,000, according to a report by the department's Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Job openings in arts, entertainment, and recreation totaled 53,000 by end of July. Job openings were 47,000 in federal government and were 42,000 in state and local government education.

Job openings declined in durable goods manufacturing by 47,000, the report showed.

The latest data indicated that hiring demand remains strong despite that the Federal Reserve has been attempting to cool demand by raising interest rates aggressively in recent months.

The July unemployment report, which was released early this month, showed that the number of unemployed edged down to 5.7 million. With the increase in job openings, there were nearly two job positions per available worker, signaling widening imbalances.

The July employment report also showed that the labor force participation rate slightly dropped to 62.1 percent, still below the pre-pandemic level of 63.4 percent. Federal Reserve officials had hoped that labor participation rates will rebound as virus fears ease and caregiving burdens decline.

In his annual policy speech in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell acknowledged the "unfortunate costs" of reducing inflation, while stressing that "a failure to restore price stability would mean far greater pain."

"Reducing inflation is likely to require a sustained period of below-trend growth. Moreover, there will very likely be some softening of labor market conditions," Powell said.

The Federal Open Market Committee, the Fed's policy-setting body, enacted two consecutive 0.75 percentage point increases in its June and July meetings, marking the largest back-to-back rate increases in decades. The target range for the federal funds rate is 2.25 to 2.5 percent.

According to the Chicago Mercantile Exchange Group's FedWatch tool, the probability of a 75-basis-point rate hike at the Fed's next policy meeting was 68.5 percent on Tuesday.