U.S. job openings increased in June and layoffs dropped to their lowest in nearly two years as labor market conditions tightened further, according a government report on Wednesday.
The Labor Department's monthly Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) report also suggested a growing skill shortage, which has been highlighted by independent surveys.
Job openings, a measure of labor demand, rose 110,000 to a seasonally adjusted 5.6 million, the JOLTS report showed. That raised the jobs openings rate one-tenth of a percentage point to 3.8 percent.
Layoffs fell to 1.6 million in June, the lowest level since September 2014, from 1.7 million in May, the JOLTS report showed. The decline pushed the layoffs rate to 1.1 percent, the lowest since November 2013.
The U.S. dollar fell on Wednesday as investors awaited a speech by Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen later this month in the absence of new major economic reports that could provide signs of economic strength.
The greenback gained after Friday's jobs report for July showed better-than-expected employment gains, raising prospects for a further rate increase this year. It has since given back those gains.
Oil prices fell around 2 percent on Wednesday after the second-biggest weekly draw in U.S. gasoline this summer was countered by an unseasonal build in crude stockpiles.
Adding to renewed worries about a global crude glut, top crude exporter Saudi Arabia told the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) that the kingdom's output reached a record high of 10.7 million barrels per day in July.
U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures CLc1 settled down $1.06, or 2.5 percent, at $41.71 per barrel. Last week, WTI broke below $40 support for the first time since April, entering bear market territory after falling 20 percent from June peaks.
Reference: Reuters
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