Investing.com - The number of job openings in the U.S. rose more than expected in August, underlining optimism over the strength of the labor market, official data showed on Tuesday.
In a report, the U.S. Labor Department said that the number of job openings, excluding the farming industry, rose to 4.84 million in August from 4.61 million in July.
Analysts had expected the number of job openings to increase to 4.71 million in August.
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 traded at 1.2635 following the release of the data from 1.2641 before, while GBP/USD was at 1.6108 compared to 1.6113 ahead of the report.
Meanwhile, U.S. stock markets were lower after the open. The Dow 30 fell 0.65%, the S&P 500 declined 0.6%, while the NASDAQ 100 slumped 0.6%.
Elsewhere, in the commodities market, gold traded at $1,211.90 a troy ounce, compared to $1,212.30 ahead of the data, while crude oil traded at $89.63 a barrel from $89.62 earlier.