A quiet day today, with no major news at all from Europe - the slackers! - and little pulse-quickening from Asia either (though Japanese machine tool orders, S Korean unemployment, and Australia home loans all beat expectations).
In the US, the focus continued to fall on the labour market, with the JOLTS job openings survey showing openings up 10.3% mom to 6.618mn. This was the strongest since February, but still way down from the 'hot' levels of pre-Covid 2019. Still the average openings/unemployed rate of the last 10yrs looks within grasp over the coming months.
A question remains: if openings are so strong, why are hirings so weak - they fell 17% on the month? A look at the soaring quits rate suggests employers are finding it increasingly difficult to find the right people to fill the holes increasingly available. Add skills shortage to the combined supply and demand shocks in the US economy.
