Strong Employment Picture For The United States
- According to the U.S. Department of Labor, there were 3 million jobs open in the United States in May, approximately the same number that were open the month before. The number of job openings in the manufacturing sector rose, however, to a new all-time high of 509,000.
- The U.S. Department of Labor also announced last week that 209,000 individuals filed for federal unemployment benefits during the week that ended July 9, a decrease of 13,000 from the previous week’s level. The four-week moving average of first-time claims also declined, but the number of individuals who continued to receive benefits rose. That figure increased to 1.723 million for the week that ended June 29, up from 1.696 million the week before. The four-week moving average of continuing claims also rose.
- In other economic news: the U.S. Producer Price Index for final demand rose 0.1 percent from May 2019 to June 2019 and 1.7 percent from June 2018 to June 2019; the U.S. Consumer Price Index rose 0.1 percent from May to June and 1.6 percent year-over-year.