US job openings fall back in February

The US jobs market eased a bit more in February, the results of a closely followed survey showed.

According to the Department of Labor, in seasonally adjusted terms, job openings dropped at a month-on-month pace of nearly 6.0% to reach 9.931m - marking the first print below 10.0m since May 2021.

As well, the prior month's reading was revised lower from 10.824m to 10.563m.

Hiring meanwhile fell by 2.6% over the month to 6.163m.

In parallel, the number of so-called 'quits' or voluntary separation increased by 3.8% to reach 4.024m.

The quits rate ticked higher by one tenth of a percentage point as a result to 2.6%.

Commenting on the latest figures, Matthew Martin at Oxford Economics said: "February's JOLTS report is an indication that the softening in the labor market may be gaining some momentum.

"[...] While the Fed will welcome the softening in the data, officials will put much more stock in Friday's employment report and will continue to raise rates at the coming meetings to ensure further progress is made toward softer labor market conditions and lower inflation."

"While we would caution against attaching too much weight to monthly changes in the JOLTS data given the series’ volatility and susceptibility to large revisions, February’s JOLTS report provides convincing evidence of loosening labor market conditions that should help alleviate upward pressures on wages and prices, particularly within the service sector," chipped in Mickey Levy at Berenberg.

"While this marks encouraging progress in the restoration of better balance between labor demand and supply, overall measures of labor market tightness suggest that a return of wage growth to levels consistent with 2% inflation remains a distant prospect."