On the heels of 4.7% core personal consumption expenditures, the Fed’s preferred inflation measure, we now have the BLS releasing the April Job Opening & Labor Turnover Report and showing an upward trend of 10.1 million job openings.
The number of job openings edged up to 10.1 million on the last business day of April, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Over the month, the number of hires changed little at 6.1 million. Total separations decreased to 5.7 million. Within separations, quits (3.8 million) changed little, while layoffs and discharges (1.6 million) decreased. This release includes estimates of the number and rate of job openings, hires, and separations for the total nonfarm sector, by industry, and by establishment size class. Job Openings On the last business day of April, the number of job openings edged up to 10.1 million (+358,000). The job openings rate was little changed at 6.1 percent. In April, job openings increased in retail trade (+209,000); health care and social assistance (+185,000); and transportation, warehousing, and utilities (+154,000). (See table 1.) Source: BLS.gov
The JOLTS number for March was 9.6 million so this does not bode well for a Fed pause or pivot. If anything, this will encourage the Fed to hike rates yet again in June.
So what’s the best way to invest right now? For us, it is to continue to invest in T-bills for the next few months as soon as the debt ceiling is raised. Stay tuned, stay profitable and stay solvent…