Remaining labour market slack rapidly shrinking

The decline in the unemployment rate to only 5.1% in August means that the Fed has arguably already achieved the full employment part of its dual mandate. If there is still any slack left in thel abour market, July’s Job Opening and Labour Turnover (JOLT) data, released last week, suggested it won’t be around for much longer. The job openings rate surged to a record 3.9% in July, putting it well above the peak reached during the last economic cycle.