There has been no winter chill in the American job market. Companies created more than a half million new jobs to begin the year. And there were 11 million vacant job openings in December. The latest employment data will be in focus in the week ahead.
First up – JOLTS. The Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey captures demand by employers for workers. It is a gauge of how the demand for workers is matching up with the supply of labor. And there continues to be a big mismatch.
The January JOLTS report will be released Wednesday. Mild weather may have helped support construction hiring even as higher interest rates have increased real estate borrowing costs. Tech job losses will weigh on the market, as could the end of holiday season hiring. Still, the number of vacant jobs is likely to continue to be well above the number of unemployed workers, highlighting the tight job market conditions helping push up wages, and undergirding inflation.
