JOLTS Report Sends Stocks Tumbling, Prompting Visions of Another Fed Hike

The good-news-is-bad-news narrative continued Tuesday, as a new report showed job openings expanding, thus furnishing fresh evidence that the economy has failed to slow as much as the Federal Reserve wants as it seeks to curb inflation.

The number of open jobs in the U.S. soared in August, far above projections. The latest Job Opening and Labor Turnover Survey, or JOLTS report, issued Tuesday by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, showed 9.6 million jobs open at the end of August, an increase from the 8.8 million job openings reported for July.

The JOLTS news precedes the much-anticipated September employment report, due out Friday. Employment in August moved upward, while the jobless number remained low, up only slightly to 3.8%, from 3.5% in July.

The strong JOLTS report was a surprise to Wall Street, which had expected 8.8 million openings in August, about even with the July number. The S&P 500 slid 1.4% for the day, also pushed by a jump in the 10-year Treasury yield to 4.80%, up from 4.68% on Monday and part of a steady escalation since April.

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“A cooling labor market was expected to emerge, but the August job openings data showed a large pickup with vacancies,” commented Edward Moya, a senior market analyst for the Americas at currency trading platform OANDA Corp., in a statement.

Fed Chair Jerome Powell noted recently that the hot jobs market was a troubling factor for the central bank. In his September 20 press conference, he remarked that “although the jobs-to-workers gap has narrowed, labor demand still exceeds the supply of available workers.” Openings are down from their record peak in March 2022 (12.03 million) but are still above historical averages. The Fed’s rate-setting Open Market Committee next meets on October 31-November 1.

“Hotter-than-expected job opening data today is not good news to stocks or bonds today,” said Gina Bolvin, president of the Bolvin Wealth Management Group, in a statement. “The market wants to see this number come down, but now the odds of a rate hike have increased.”

Tags: 10-year Treasury yield, employment, Federal Reserve, Jerome Powell, job openings, JOLTS, U.S. jobs report, vacancies

Emily Mendell has been appointed as executive director of the Private Equity Women Investor Network, an organization for senior-level women investment professionals in private equity. Mendell succeeds Kirsty McGuire, PEWIN’s first executive director, who began her role in June 2021.

Mendell has three decades of experience in private equity and venture capital. She held leadership positions at a number of industry trade associations, such as the National Venture Capital Association, where she was vice president of communications, and the Institutional Limited Partners Association, where she was managing director of membership, events and communications.

“I will be squarely focused on harnessing the power of PEWIN to deepen membership engagement and increase our influence across the global private equity and venture capital industries,” Mendell said via a spokesperson. “PEWIN has enjoyed such a strong growth trajectory over the past several years that our opportunities to make an impact are substantial. We intend to be strategic in our efforts, and I’m looking forward to working closely with the board to set our course of action for the long term.”

Mendell’s other previous positions include director of marketing and communications at CenterSquare Investment Management, vice president of communications at Polaris Partners and managing partner at the Weiser Group. She earned a B.S. in economics from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.

“Emily’s experience within our industry is only rivaled by her passion for our organization, its mission, and our members,” said Dana Johns, the chair of PEWIN’s board, in a statement. “She is a proven leader, a seasoned communicator, and an effective relationship builder. We are thrilled to have her in this role and look forward to her contributions to our collective success. This work could not be any more important, especially as women continue to make strides in terms of senior representation in private equity. We could not be more excited for Emily to help unify senior women leaders across the industry.”

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PEWIN’s membership includes more than 1,000 senior leaders in private equity from more than 30 countries across North America, Europe, Asia and Africa. The organization provides opportunities to network, share ideas and make deep connections with peers, with the goal of increasing the profile of women within private equity.

Tags: Dana Johns, Emily Mendell, Kirsty McGuire, PEWIN, Private Equity Women Investor Network