Lots of intriguing data released this week. First the BLS released their latest JOLTS report and shows 11.3 million job openings. From BLS:
The number of job openings was little changed at 11.3 million on the last business day of January, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Hires and total separations were little changed at 6.5 million and 6.1 million, respectively. Within separations, the quits rate decreased to 2.8 percent. The layoffs and discharges rate was little changed at 0.9 percent. This release includes estimates of the number and rate of job openings, hires, and separations for the total nonfarm sector, by industry, by four geographic regions, and by establishment size class. The release also includes 2021 annual estimates for hires and separations. The annual number of hires and quits in 2021 increased to 75.6 million and 47.8 million, respectively. The annual number of layoffs and discharges decreased to 17.0 million in 2021.
We’ve written endlessly about job opening and will continue to affirm our belief that job openings will only continue to increase as 10,000 boomers retire daily and leave the work force but continue to consume goods and services with income from social security and medicare. Expect more inflation as a result of this as wages push higher and higher and the availability of goods and services goes lower and lower.
Speaking of inflation, the BLS released CPI rate and it came in at a whopping 7.9 percent. From BLS:
The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) increased 0.8 percent in February on a seasonally adjusted basis after rising 0.6 percent in January, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Over the last 12 months, the all items index increased 7.9 percent before seasonal adjustment. Increases in the indexes for gasoline, shelter, and food were the largest contributors to the seasonally adjusted all items increase. The gasoline index rose 6.6 percent in February and accounted for almost a third of the all items monthly increase; other energy component indexes were mixed. The food index rose 1.0 percent as the food at home index rose 1.4 percent; both were the largest monthly increases since April 2020.
Got a defensive stock portfolio yet? We just showcased ours in Part I and Part II recently. We continue to wait for significant market pull backs to accumulate more shares in some of our key defensive portfolio stocks but for now, we are sitting on the sidelines with cash.
Stay tuned and stay solvent…