The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) data for last November, showing that job openings reached 8.09 million, higher than economists' prediction of 7.7 million. The job openings rate rose to 4.8% in November, and the resignation rate decreased, with the number of employees voluntarily leaving their jobs dropping from 3.28 million in October to 3.06 million. This stronger-than-expected employment market report has renewed market expectations for the Fed to maintain its current interest rate policy, triggering a sell-off of risk assets and price declines.
The increase in job openings was primarily concentrated in small businesses, with the professional and business services sector adding 273,000 positions, the financial and insurance sector adding 105,000, and the private education services sector adding 38,800. However, job openings in the software technology industry decreased by 89,000, which was better than market expectations. Despite the rise in job openings, employers remain cautious in the post-pandemic hiring boom. Economists believe that businesses may be waiting to see the policy direction under Trump’s administration, including plans for tax cuts, increased import tariffs, and the expulsion of illegal immigrants.
This also caused Bitcoin to break through the $100,000 mark yesterday, but it lasted only about 24 hours before quickly falling back. Bitcoin recently reached a high of nearly $103,000 as many companies increased their investments and institutional investors brought in funds, but the bulls failed to sustain the upward momentum, coinciding with the release of the employment report indicating better-than-expected employment, which led to a gradual price drop, ultimately falling to the $97,000 range.