News Briefs

The Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (“JOLTS”), a closely watched measure of labor market health, indicated there were 6.0 million job openings at the end of April, the highest reading ever.  Hires decreased to 5.1 million and the quits rate was little changed at 2.1%.  BLS Report

The Wall Street Journal reports that the median new U.S. home got smaller last year for the first time since the Great Recession of 2008-09.  Experts say that the decline can be traced to high demand from first time buyers and persistently low supply, which has driven builders to construct smaller, more affordable homes. WSJ

Sam Fleming and Robin Wigglesworth of the Financial Times write that the fact that recent Fed rate hikes have had little effect on financial markets may strengthen the case for another rate hike in June. While recent, weak employment and muted inflation would usually decrease the likelihood of a rate hike, Fed officials have argued that these factors are only transitory and strong financial markets point to the general health of the economy. FT