#job-openings

#job-openings

On Wednesday, the government reported that U.S. employers added a surprisingly strong 130,000 jobs in January and the unemployment rate fell to a still-low 4.3% from 4.4%. However, government revisions cut 2024-2025 U.S. payrolls by hundreds of thousands. That reduced the number of jobs created last year to just 181,000, a third of the previously reported 584,000 and the weakest since the pandemic year of 2020.

Ben Casselman reporting for the New York Times: The Bureau of Labor Statistics will not release monthly jobs numbers on Friday as scheduled because of the partial government shutdown, said Emily Liddel, an associate commissioner for the bureau. The report, one of the most closely watched economic indicators each month, would have provided data on job growth, unemployment and wages in January, as well as annual revisions to employment estimates from 2024 and 2025.

The New York City civil service exam schedule is open for October, and some jobs pay more than others. The application period for exams opened Oct. 1 Exam applications currently open include: assistant mechanical engineer; custodian; emergency medical specialist - EMT; emergency medical specialist trainee; occupational therapist (DOE); physical therapist (DOE); police officer; program officer (Department for the Aging); and public health nurse. The starting salary for each career varies, according to the city.

By the numbers: Other key data points in the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey were of the nothing-to-see-here variety. The hiring rate was stable, as were the rates at which people voluntarily quit their jobs and were discharged or laid off. There were, however, sharp negative revisions to June numbers, particularly in layoffs and discharges. The number of job openings in June was revised down by 80,000, and the number of people who lost their jobs involuntarily that month was revised up by a whopping 192,000 from the earlier estimate.

The US dollar strengthened amid an unexpected increase in job openings in America, as a result sterling edged lower by 0.3% to $1.3712.

The increase of job openings to nearly 7.4 million in April exceeded expectations, reflecting a cautious labor market as companies retain employees while awaiting Trump-era policy impacts.