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US labor market cooling gradually as job openings, resignations fall
© Reuters. People line up outside a newly reopened career center for in-person appointments in Louisville, U.S., April 15, 2021. REUTERS/Amira Karaoud TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY
By Lucia Mutikani
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. job openings fell marginally in January, while the number of workers quitting their jobs dropped to a three-year low, indicating that labor market conditions were gradually easing.
The decline in resignations, which pushed the quits rate to
the lowest level in 3-1/2 years, over time bodes well for slower wage inflation and overall price pressures in the economy.
There were 1.45 jobs for every unemployed person in January up from 1.42 in December, indicating the labor market remains strong. This is well above the average of 1.2 during the year before the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey, or JOLTS report from the Labor Department was published on Wednesday as Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell presented the U.S. central bank’s semiannual Monetary Policy Report to lawmakers.
Powell said the Fed expected to start cutting interest rates this year, but cautioned “the economic outlook is uncertain, and ongoing progress toward our 2% inflation objective is not assured.”
“The JOLTS data signal that the jobs market is slowly settling down, consistent with wage, and thus inflation, pressures cooling without a worrisome slowdown in net job creation and overall economic activity,” said Sarah House, a senior economist a Wells Fargo in Charlotte, North Carolina.
“The gradual, rather than marked, softening in the labor market will likely keep the Fed comfortable in waiting a little while longer before beginning to cut rates.”
Job openings, a measure of labor demand, slipped 26,000 to 8.863 million on the last day of January, the Labor Department’s Bureau of Labor Statistics said.
Economists polled by Reuters had forecast 8.9 million job openings in January. Job openings peaked at a record 12.182 million in March 2022. January’s report incorporated annual revisions to the data as well as updates to seasonal adjustment factors, the model used by the government to strip out seasonal fluctuations from the data.
Job openings rose in nondurable goods manufacturing, with 82,000 more positions reported. There were also increases in unfilled jobs in financial activities, professional and business services as well as leisure and hospitality industries. But government job openings dropped 105,000.
Government hiring has significantly contributed to payrolls growth in recent months, which had raised worries among some economists that job gains were too concentrated in a handful of sectors. The decline in job openings was concentrated in state and local governments.
In the private sector, private educational services had 41,000 fewer job openings. Vacancies also declined in the retail as well as transportation, warehousing and utilities sectors.
Job openings dropped in the South, West and Midwest, but increased in the Northeast with the decrease concentrated among medium-sized and large businesses. Small businesses with one to 49 employees had a large number of vacancies.
The job openings rate was unchanged at 5.3%. Hiring decreased 100,000 to 5.687 million. There were notable declines in transportation, warehousing and utilities, healthcare and social assistance as well as state and local education sectors.
The hires rate dipped to 3.6% from 3.7% in December. The labor market is gradually slowing following 525 basis points worth of rate hikes from the Fed since March 2022.
Stocks on Wall Street were trading higher. The dollar fell against a basket of currencies. U.S. Treasury prices rose.
LOW LAYOFFS
The number of workers resigning from their jobs, presumably in search of greener pastures, dropped 54,000 to 3.385 million, the lowest level since January 2021.
A surge in resignations during and after the pandemic was one of the factors behind robust wage growth.
But as more workers stay put, inflation is cooling, with the ADP National Employment report separately showing on Wednesday that wages for workers staying in their jobs increased 5.1% in the 12 months through February.
That was the smallest annual gain since August 2021 and followed a 5.3% rise in January.
Fewer workers quit their jobs in the retail sector. There were also significant decreases in quits in healthcare and social assistance as well as professional and business services. But more accommodation and food services workers resigned.
The quits rate, viewed as a measure of labor market confidence, dropped to 2.1%, the lowest since August 2020 and down from 2.2%.
Job cuts were low despite high-profile layoffs at the start of the year. Layoffs dropped 35,000 to 1.572 million in January, keeping the layoffs rate at 1.0% for a third straight month.
The Labor Department is expected to report on Friday that nonfarm payrolls increased by 200,000 jobs in February, according to a Reuters survey. The economy added 353,000 positions in January.
Job growth has cooled from the brisk pace in 2022, but payroll gains are well above the roughly 100,000 jobs needed per month to keep up with growth in the working-age population.
The unemployment rate is forecast unchanged at 3.7% and annual wage growth slowing to 4.4% from 4.5% in January.
“The data are pointing to some rebalancing in supply and demand in the labor market,” said Rubeela Farooqi, chief U.S. economist at High Frequency Economics in White Plains, New York.
By Maggie Fick and Ahmed Aboulenein
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Members of Donald Trump’s presidential transition team are laying the groundwork for the United States to withdraw from the World Health Organization on the first day of his second term, according to a health law expert familiar with the discussions.
“I have it on good authority that he plans to withdraw, probably on Day One or very early in his administration,” said Lawrence Gostin, professor of global health at Georgetown University in Washington and director of the WHO Collaborating Center on National and Global Health (NS:) Law.
The Financial Times was first to report on the plans, citing two experts. The second expert, former White House COVID-19 response coordinator Ashish Jha, was not immediately available for comment.
The Trump transition team did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.
The plan, which aligns with Trump’s longstanding criticism of the U.N. health agency, would mark a dramatic shift in U.S. global health policy and further isolate Washington from international efforts to battle pandemics.
Trump has nominated several critics of the organization to top public health positions, including Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a vaccine skeptic who is up for the post of secretary of Health and Human Services, which oversees all major U.S. health agencies including the CDC and FDA.
Trump initiated the year-long withdrawal process from the WHO in 2020 but six months later his successor, President Joe Biden, reversed the decision.
Trump has argued that the agency failed to hold China accountable for the early spread of COVID-19. He has repeatedly called the WHO a puppet of Beijing and vowed to redirect U.S. contributions to domestic health initiatives.
A WHO spokesperson declined to directly comment but referred Reuters to comments by WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus at a press briefing on Dec. 10 in which he was asked whether he was concerned that the Trump administration would withdraw from the organization.
Tedros said at the time that the WHO needed to give the U.S. time and space for the transition. He also voiced confidence that states could finalize a pandemic agreement by May 2025.
Critics warn that a U.S. withdrawal could undermine global disease surveillance and emergency response systems.
“The U.S. would lose influence and clout in global health and China would fill the vacuum. I can’t imagine a world without a robust WHO. But U.S. withdrawal would severely weaken the agency,” Gostin said.
U.Today – MicroStrategy has made headlines again by purchasing 5,262 BTC for approximately $561 million at an average price of $106,662 per BTC. The company now holds a staggering 444,262 BTC, accumulated at a total cost of approximately $27.7 billion, with an average purchase price of $62,257 per BTC.
Despite impressive returns of 47.4% since the beginning of the quarter and 73.7% since the beginning of the year, skepticism about the company’s strategy is growing.
It is believed that to sustain its purchases, MicroStrategy raises capital through methods such as issuing convertible and corporate bonds, securing credit lines and selling shares.
This cycle appears to operate as follows: shares are sold to acquire the cryptocurrency, and the rising price per BTC increases asset value, enabling further loans, which are then reinvested in more purchases.
Some observers warn that a significant decline in Bitcoin’s price or MicroStrategy’s stock could trigger a cascade effect. A sharp fall in MSTR shares would weaken the collateral backing its loans, potentially leading to forced asset sales, including BTC.
This scenario could exert downward pressure on the broader cryptocurrency market, as the company holds 2.2% of the global Bitcoin supply now.
Thus, while some view Michael Saylor’s approach as a bold bid to cement the cryptocurrency’s role in the financial system, others see it as unsustainable. History offers a cautionary note: in 2000, MSTR shares surged to $333 before plummeting 99%, a collapse that took 24 years to recover from.
National homebuilder ranked No. 12 on inaugural list ranking companies based on trust
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz., Dec. 23, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — With a longstanding reputation for trust, national homebuilder and land developer Taylor Morrison (NYSE:) (NYSE: ™HC) has been recognized by Forbes on their inaugural list of the Most Trusted Companies in America. The homebuilder ranked No. 12 out of 300 companies across all industries.
“There are few things more powerful than trust and it’s something we strive to earn amongst all company stakeholders, from our customers to our team members, our shareholders, and our local communities,” said Taylor Morrison Chairman and CEO Sheryl Palmer. “To be included on this esteemed list in its inaugural year is especially meaningful and these awards are important reminders of the relationships we’re building across all aspects of our business.”
Fueled by hundreds of millions of data points, the Most Trusted Companies in America list combines data on a wide range of factors across four categories: employee trust, customer trust, investor trust and media sentiment. The ranking was created in partnership with research companies HundredX, Signal AI and Glassdoor.
Taylor Morrison also earned the No. 67 spot on Forbes’ inaugural America’s Best Companies list. The ranking is Forbes’ most comprehensive company ranking to date and factored in ratings for financial performance, customer and employee satisfaction, cybersecurity, sustainability, companies’ remote work policies, media coverage and more. Forbes’ America’s Best Companies list assessed more than 60 metrics across 11 primary categories to identify which organizations excel across the board. Of the more than 2,000 U.S.-based publicly traded companies that were eligible, only 300 qualified for each list.
In addition to being named among the Most Trusted and Best Companies in America by Forbes, Taylor Morrison holds several additional accolades including being named on Newsweek’s America’s Most Responsible Companies and America’s Greenest Companies lists, U.S. News & World Report’s Best Companies to Work For list, the American Opportunity (SO:) Index, America’s Most Trusted ® Home Builder for nine years, Hearthstone’s 2021 BUILDER Humanitarian Award, and inclusion on the Fortune 500 list since 2021.
About Taylor Morrison
Headquartered in Scottsdale, Arizona, Taylor Morrison is one of the nation’s leading homebuilders and developers. We serve a wide array of consumers from coast to coast, including first-time, move-up, luxury and resort lifestyle homebuyers and renters under our family of brands”including Taylor Morrison, Esplanade and Yardly. From 2016-2024, Taylor Morrison has been recognized as America’s Most Trusted ® Builder by Lifestory Research. Our long-standing commitment to sustainable operations is highlighted in our annual Sustainability and Belonging Report.
For more information about Taylor Morrison, please visit www.taylormorrison.com.
CONTACT:
media@taylormorrison.com
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