• Despite a decrease in the number of job openings for the second month in a row to 11.3 million in May (11.7 million in April), the job market remains very strong with the number of job openings per unemployed worker still close to historical highs at 1.9. The largest decreases occurred in professional and business services and in manufacturing while openings continued to increase in retail trade and leisure and hospitality. Hires and separations were largely unchanged.
  • The strength of the labor market was confirmed by the June employment situation, which showed the U.S. economy added 372,000 jobs in June, and unemployment remained stable at 3.6%.
  • The June ISM® Manufacturing PMI® contracted to 53% from 56.1% in May, indicating that the expansion continues but at a slower pace. New orders dropped 5.9 percentage points to 49.2%, signaling that the inventory rebuilding may have run its course.
  • The Semiconductor Industry Association released the latest World Semiconductor Trade Statistics monthly global semiconductor sales numbers for May last Tuesday. While year-over-year monthly sales remained strong in May at 18%, they have decelerated throughout the year, indicating the semiconductor market is moving into a cyclical downturn. The question is to what degree will the macroeconomic headwinds described above weaken chip demand