The number of job openings fell to 8.8 million at the end of July, down from the prior month’s revised 9.1 million in a sign that the economy is downshifting, the Labor Department reported on Tuesday.
The drop brings the number about 2.5 million below the 11.4 million available jobs of a year ago.
Openings fell in professional and business services, down 198,000; health care and social assistance, off by 130,000; and state and local government, including education, where the combined losses totaled 129,000. There was a strong increase in information industry jobs, up by 101,000; and in transportation, warehousing and utilities, where openings increased by 75,000.
“Now it is taking a bit longer for jobseekers to find a job,” said Julia Pollak, chief economist for ZipRecruiter. “There’s meaningful slack in the job market, but it is still a historically tight job market. Overall, I still see the U.S. labor market as understaffed.”
The government will report the monthly jobs number for August on Friday with expectations for a gain of about 168,000 jobs.
“Investors should expect a softening labor report this Friday, further cementing the thesis that the Fed is getting close to finishing its tightening cycle,” said Jeffrey Roach, chief economist at LPL Financial.
Meanwhile, the Conference Board’s consumer confidence index for August found a pullback as Americans grew more concerned about rising prices of gasoline and groceries.
The present situation index – a reading of how consumers assess the current economy – fell to 144.8 from 153.0 in July. The expectations index, a forward-looking measure, declined to 80.2 from July’s bump to 88.
“Consumer confidence fell in August 2023, erasing back-to-back increases in June and July,” saidDana Peterson, chief economist at the business organization. “August’s disappointing headline number reflected dips in both the current conditions and expectations indexes. Write-in responses showed that consumers were once again preoccupied with rising prices in general, and for groceries and gasoline in particular.”
“The pullback in consumer confidence was evident across all age groups – and most notable among consumers with household incomes of $100,000 or more, as well as those earning less than $50,000,” Peterson added. “Confidence held relatively steady for consumers with incomes between $50,000 and $99,999.”
Consumers expected higher interest rates to come, while also lowering their assessment of the probability of a recession.
Also Tuesday, home prices rose 0.9% in June, according to the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller index. Prices were unchanged on a year-over-year basis.
"U.S. home prices continued to increase in June 2023," said Craig J. Lazzara, Managing Director at S&P DJI. "Our National Composite rose by 0.9% in June, and it now stands only -0.02% below its all time peak from exactly one year ago. Our 10- and 20-City Composites likewise each gained 0.9% in June 2023, and stand -0.5% and -1.2%, respectively, below their June 2022 peaks.”
"As we've noted previously, the recovery in home prices is broadly based,” Lazzara added. “Prices rose in all 20 cities in June, both before and after seasonal adjustment. Over the last 12 months, 10 cities show positive returns. Otherwise said, half the cities in our sample now sit at all-time high prices.
“Today’s market offers buyers the frustrating combination of low inventory and high home prices,” said Realtor.com economic data analyst Hannah Jones. “Many existing homeowners remain on the sidelines of the market, content to stay put as mortgage rates reach 20-year highs.”
“As a result, home shoppers are seeing fewer existing homes for sale and facing more competition for the homes available,” Jones added. “Builders have started to pick up construction activity to fill this gap, but remain cautious as affordability challenges continue to stifle buyer demand.”
。 昨天早上8点半，西湖荷叶莲蓬爱心义卖活动在柳浪闻莺微笑亭如约开摊。
B | 现场，音乐剧《钱氏今生》里的钱王和吴夫人的扮演者黄千懿、董静也到场助阵，为市民送上祝福。
C | 图为昨天早上市民在柳浪闻莺微笑亭购买“爱心莲莲”套餐。每到盛夏，许多老杭州人就会有一种莫名的期待——西湖的荷叶与莲蓬，昨天，大家心心念念一整年的“西湖有爱·好运莲莲”爱心义卖热闹开集，地址还设在老地方：柳浪闻莺微笑亭。
D | 早上8点20分，记者赶到现场时，已经有不少市民提前排队等候。年近90岁的洪先生早上6点左右抵达西湖边，拿到了第5号。“特别高兴。”老人笑呵呵地举着号码牌说。在这位老杭州人的心中，西湖的山水是童年一份特殊的印记，“我们小时候到湖里抓鱼、摸虾，退休了之后没事儿就过来转转，对这里特别有感情。”洪先生说，自打西湖莲蓬义卖的第一年以来，自己就参与了，此后年年到场，“尝过之后就会知道，西湖长出的莲子和莲蓬味道和其他地方的不一样，荷叶还可以用来泡茶，香气扑鼻。”昨天的1号小票，被准高三学生操睿收入囊中，小姑娘骑了1小时的车，凌晨4点多到达现场，“去年我也来了，今年比预想中的人少一点，没想到真的拿到1号，希望能借着好运给接下来的高三生活开一个好头。”早上8点30分，义卖活动准时开启，市民们按照号码牌有序排队，“爱心莲莲”套餐还是老规矩：10元钱能够买到3个莲蓬和5张荷叶，每人限购一份，售完即止。领到爱心套餐的市民都迫不及待地打开袋子，满眼欣喜地展示“战利品”：有人第一时间拍照分享，有人直接剥开莲蓬品尝果实的清甜，还有小朋友顽皮地举起荷叶，当成帽子……每个人的脸上都洋溢着由衷的快乐。西湖景区水域管理处水生植物养护班班长俞阳洋说，这些带着“鲜气儿”的爱心套餐都是西湖养荷人凌晨4点采摘下来的，“为了确保荷花健康和美态，养荷人会一根根疏理，然后将这些带着露水与清香第一时间送到微笑亭。”俞阳洋透露，荷花喜欢阳光，由于台风刚过以及近期阴雨影响，部分荷叶叶面上可能有斑点等，样子没那么完美。同时西湖荷花属于观赏性“花莲”，莲蓬产量等都比不了专供食用的“子莲”。所以每天义卖数量将根据天气和荷花生长情况而定，还请大家理解。今年的爱心义卖从昨天开始将持续至8月下旬。其间，每周一到周五上午7时，在柳浪闻莺微笑亭发放当日号码牌；8点30分至9点凭号码牌当场购买，过时号码作废；请自备零钱，或使用支付宝支付。如遇雨天或双休日，义卖活动暂停，所有的义卖善款将全部捐给慈善机构。需要再次提醒市民朋友，天气炎热，请大家注意防暑，根据自身状况前往，文明有序购买。
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昨天早上8点半，西湖荷叶莲蓬爱心义卖活动在柳浪闻莺微笑亭如约开摊。
