Job Openings Rise as Fed Meets to Determine Next Interest Rate Hike
Summary from the AllSides News Team
U.S. job openings rose to 10.7 million by the end of September, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Tuesday. In that month, new hires edged down to 6.1 million, quits held steady at 4.1 million, and layoffs and discharges decreased to 1.3 million.
For Context: Recent polling suggests voters see inflation and the economy as top issues in the 2022 midterm elections. The new jobs numbers prompted commentary on how long the Federal Reserve would continue its efforts to slow the economy to fight inflation. The Fed, which previously cited a strong labor market as evidence of a strong economy, is meeting Tuesday and Wednesday to plan an anticipated interest rate hike.
Other Key Numbers: While the U.S. has so far enjoyed a strong labor market in 2022, worker productivity saw its largest decline since 1948. Inflation remained high at 0.4% in September despite the Fed’s efforts, even as major corporations like PepsiCo, ExxonMobil, and BP brought in higher profits.
How the Media Covered It: Coverage was widespread and mostly balanced across the spectrum, with most emphasis coming from business-focused outlets.
Featured Coverage of this Story
From the Right
Job openings unexpectedly surge in September despite Fed efforts to cool labor market
U.S. job openings unexpectedly surged higher in September, even as the Federal Reserve tries to bring down near-record high inflation and cool the labor market with the most aggressive interest rate hikes in decades.
The Labor Department said Tuesday that there were 10.7 million job openings in September — an uptick from the previous month's reading of 10.1 million.
The number of available jobs has topped 10 million for 16 consecutive months; before the pandemic began in February 2020, the highest on record was 7.7 million.
"The high number of openings continues...
From the Left
US Job Openings Post Surprise Increase, Keeping Pressure on Fed
US job openings unexpectedly rebounded in September amid low unemployment, likely fueling further wage gains and adding pressure on the Federal Reserve to extend its aggressive campaign to curb inflation.
The number of available positions increased to 10.7 million in September from a revised 10.3 million a month earlier, the Labor Department’s Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey, or JOLTS, showed Tuesday. The median estimate in a Bloomberg survey of economists called for a drop to about 9.8 million.
From the Center
Jump in U.S. job openings may jolt Fed yet again
A jump in U.S. monthly job openings has thrown the Federal Reserve another confounding bit of data for its policy meeting this week, with more evidence that rapid interest rate increases have yet to bite hard in the real economy.
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