Investing.com - The number of job openings in the U.S. declined more than expected in February, but still remained in territory consistent with an improving labor market as employers actively seek workers, official data showed on Tuesday.
In a report, the U.S. Labor Department said that the number of job openings, excluding the farming industry, decreased to 5.455 million in February from 5.604 million a month earlier. Analysts had expected the number of job openings to decline to 5.500 million.
The report has garnered more attention lately, as Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen often cites the survey when assessing the state of the labor market.
EUR/USD was trading at 1.1342 from around 1.1354 ahead of the release of the data, GBP/USD was at 1.4135 from 1.4158 earlier, while USD/JPY was at 110. from 110.51 earlier.
The US dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six major rivals, was at 94.95, compared to 94.84 ahead of the report.
Meanwhile, U.S. stock markets were mostly lower after the open. The Dow 30 shed 0.34%, the S&P 500 fell 0.69%, while the Nasdaq Composite lost 0.63%.
The data was released at the same time as the ISM non-manufacturing PMI.