Unexpectant surge in job vacancies in the United States in April, job market remains strong.

Despite increasing economic uncertainty, the US job market showed unexpected resilience in April. According to JOLTS data released by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics on Tuesday, job openings in April rose from a revised 7.2 million to 7.39 million, surpassing economists' expectations of 7.1 million. This growth indicates that despite macroeconomic challenges, demand for labor remains healthy. Prior to the release of this data, the US dollar strengthened on Tuesday, with the dollar index rising by 0.44% to 99.117; gold prices fell, with spot gold dropping by nearly 1%. The data shows that the growth in job openings in this round is mainly coming from the private sector, especially in professional and business services, as well as in healthcare and social assistance. While there was a decrease in job openings in the education sector of local and state governments, the number of job openings in the federal government increased. It is worth noting that this data is volatile, with fluctuations in job openings of up to 500,000 in a single month. Therefore, economists tend to interpret the report from a trend perspective. Over the past year, the number of job openings has remained stable at between 7 million and 8 million. The increase in job openings, along with ongoing recruitment activities and a low unemployment rate, reinforces the Federal Reserve's assessment that the current job market is "strong." However, while the overall market performance is strong, the time it takes for unemployed individuals to find a job is increasing. Some economists predict that with the continued pressure from the tariffs imposed by President Trump, the labor market may show more obvious signs of weakness in the coming months. Currently, this weakness is not reflected in the data, so the Federal Reserve is maintaining its stance on keeping interest rates unchanged for now. Both the market and policymakers are closely watching the official employment report for May, scheduled to be released this Friday. The market expects the report to show a slowdown in job growth, while the unemployment rate remains stable. The data shows that in April, the number of hires reached its highest level in nearly a year, indicating that businesses are continuing to hire workers. However, at the same time, the number of layoffs rose to the highest point since October of last year, while the number of people voluntarily quitting their jobs decreased, indicating a decrease in confidence in switching jobs or finding a better job. Another important indicator to watch is the "job openings per unemployed person" ratio, which is currently at 1.0, returning to pre-pandemic levels. In comparison, this ratio reached 2.0 in 2022, indicating a situation where job openings far exceeded the number of job seekers. Federal Reserve officials often view this data as an important gauge of labor market supply and demand balance. However, some economists have raised questions about the accuracy of the JOLTS data, citing reasons such as low survey response rates and frequent data revisions. In fact, another similar index provided by the job search website Indeed (which is updated daily) shows that job openings in April actually declined.