The U.S. hiring rate fell to 3.2% in August, an “anemic level” last seen in June 2024, said Navy Federal chief economist Heather Long.
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Trade QQQ with leverage“The job market is frozen. Americans feel stuck. And it appears to be getting worse…” Long added in an X post. Meanwhile, August’s job openings remained steady at 7.227 million, above the expectation of 7.185 million but still hovering near a 4-year low. Job openings have trended down since March 2022.
Labor Market Concerns Weigh on Consumer Confidence
Consumers have taken notice of lower job demand, with 26.9% of respondents surveyed by The Conference Board (TCB) in September saying that jobs were “plentiful,” down from 30.9% in August.
“Among consumers’ write-in responses, there was a rise in mentions of jobs and employment to a level unseen since August 2024,” said TCB. Additionally, 16.1% of consumers expected more jobs to be available, down from 17.9%. Overall sentiment is taking a hit as well, with TCB’s Consumer Confidence Index falling by 3.6 points to 94.2, the largest monthly drop in 12 months.
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