Jobs market softening, but there's a catch

In a cardboard box factory outside Baltimore, people have been walking into the office of Paul Centenari, chief executive of Atlas Container Corp., asking for jobs, something he has not seen in over a year.

We did not see that a month ago. Centenari said that Labor is still tight but it is loosening up a bit, as quoted by Reuters.

The number of people who claim unemployment benefits remained near its lowest in decades, according to U.S. Labor Department data released last week.

The payroll provider UKG stated that even as the Federal Reserve Bank lifted interest rates and some economists warned of a potential recession, the U.S. job market has gained ground in the first half of this month.

There are signs of a softening of the industry, including high-profile layoff announcements in sectors such as technology and housing.

Electric vehicle manufacturer Tesla laid off 200 employees on its Autopilot driver-assistant system this week, after CEO Elon Musk told managers the company needed to cut staff by some 10 percent.

JPMorgan Chase Co has started letting go of employees in its mortgage business.

At the same time last week, FedEx CEO Raj Subramaniam said he believes that the worst of the company's labor problems are over.

Subramaniam said during an earnings conference call with analysts that the company now seeks to retain staff and utilize technology to manage labor, even though wages remain higher than this time last year.

During the COVID-19 epidemic, with so many workers quitting or changing jobs, the period was called the Great Resignation and staff shortages became a part of the U.S. employment market.

Jason Andringa, the head of machinery manufacturer Vermeer Corp. in Pella, Iowa, said he expects the job market to loosen up in the coming months, adding that the Fed's aggressive interest rate hikes have already cooled demand in a part of his business linked to the housing and consumer markets.

He said that it feels as though the labor market will not be as frothy as it was just a few weeks ago.