Now is the time we juxtapose.
First up, Jamie Powell at FT Alphaville:
Holy JOLTS!
JOLTS! Just when you thought post-Covid economic data couldn’t get any odder, along comes another US econ numberwang to, errr, jolt you out of your senses. (Sorry, we’ll stop now).
An hour or so ago the Bureau for Labour Statistics released its monthly Job Opening and Labour Turnover (read: JOLTS) report, and the headline numbers are quite something. The number of open job vacancies reached an all-time high of 9.3m, and perhaps perplexingly, the number of people who quit their jobs also reached a series high of 2.7 per cent of total employment.
Now, much has ink has been spilled by the commentariat of late about how the Biden administration’s generous support packages for those affected by the Covid crisis might have delayed their appetite to work. Particularly in low-wage, high Covid risk sectors like food service, entertainment and leisure. And, on the surface, the data certainly speaks to this.....
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And from Yahoo Finance:
The 559,000 jobs the U.S. added in May continue to puzzle economists, who predicted 675,000 additions for the month and 1 million additions a month earlier as the economy recovers. They've put forth explanations from lack of child care to persistent COVID-related safety concerns. Now, another culprit can be added to the list: Some potential workers are instead staying home trading Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.
"They're pulling back on the hours they're looking to work based on what's happening in the crypto market," Irina Novoselsky, CEO of job site CareerBuilder, told Yahoo Finance Live. "They're making side money and no longer looking to fill full-time hours."...
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