The number of Americans filing new applications for unemployment benefits fell last week, but sharp government spending cuts and an escalating trade war threaten labor market stability.
Read More US weekly jobless claims fall amid labor market stability
Job openings, a measure of labor demand, rose 232,000 to 7.740 million on the last day of January, the Labor Department’s Bureau of Labor Statistics said in its Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey.
Read More US job openings increase in January; layoffs decline
The tech-heavy Nasdaq led a selloff among Wall Street’s main indexes, falling over 3% to a near six-month low, on fears that a tariff war could spark an economic slowdown.
Read More Nasdaq falls over 3% to six-month low on growth concerns
Nasdaq Inc. plans to introduce 24-hour trading on its flagship U.S. exchange to capitalize on growing global demand for U.S. equities.
Read More Nasdaq plans 24-hour trading to tap into growing international demand
The ADP National Employment Report on Wednesday also showed a moderation in wage growth for workers changing jobs.
Read More US private payrolls post smallest gain in seven months
Consumer spending unexpectedly fell in January while the annual increase in inflation slowed, supporting financial market expectations that the Federal Reserve would resume cutting interest rates in June.
Read More US consumer spending declines; annual inflation subsides