What could JOLTS report tell about Fed’s direction?

Job openings have topped 11.2 million in July. That total also was nearly double the total pool of available workers, which stood at 5.67 million for the month. Available positions totaled 11.24 million for the month, in excess of the 10.3 million estimates, according to the Job Openings and Labour Turnover Survey.

The total was about 200,000 higher than the 11.04 million in June, a number revised up from the initially reported 10.7 million. July numbers reinforced that there is still a considerable shortage of workers for available positions. That is inflationary as employers are forced to offer higher compensation to attract workers at a time when prices are rising near their fastest pace.

The JOLTS report comes three days ahead of the closely watched August nonfarm payrolls next Friday. The Dow Jones estimate is for growth of 318,000, but the job openings numbers add potential upside to that count as companies continue to look to hire. Traders upped their bets that the Fed will enact a third consecutive three-quarter point interest rate hike at its September meeting.