Investing.com - The number of job openings in the U.S. surged to an all-time high in July, remaining in territory consistent with an improving labor market, official data showed on Wednesday.
In a report, the U.S. Labor Department said that the number of job openings, excluding the farming industry, increased to 5.871 million in July from 5.643 million a month earlier. Analysts had expected the number of job openings to fall to 5.580 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 1.1254 from around 1.1251 ahead of the release of the data, GBP/USD was at 1.3375 from 1.3381 earlier, while USD/JPY was at 101.50 from 101.48 earlier.
The US dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six major rivals, was at 94.81, compared to 94.78 ahead of the report.
Meanwhile, U.S. stock markets were mixed after the open. The Dow 30 shed 0.1%, the S&P 500 inched down 0.1%, while the Nasdaq Composite tacked on 0.1%.
Elsewhere, in the commodities market, gold futures traded at $1,353.05 a troy ounce, compared to $1,354.05 ahead of the data, while crude oil traded at $44.81 a barrel from $44.88 earlier.