02:40 PM EDT, 07/02/2024 (MT Newswires) -- US job openings and layoffs rose in May, while Oxford Economics said that the labor market remained strong enough to allow the Federal Reserve to be patient before cutting interest rates.

Vacancies rose to 8.14 million as of the last day of May from April's downwardly revised 7.92 million print, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Job Openings and Labor Turnover survey released Tuesday. The consensus was for a 7.95 million level in a survey compiled by Bloomberg.

"JOLTS shows no major cracks in the labor market," Oxford Economics Lead US Economist Nancy Vanden Houten said in a note. "The labor market is healthy enough to allow the Fed to be patient before lowering interest rates, although recent favorable inflation data give the Fed more latitude to respond to any surprising signs of weakness in the labor market."

Fed Chair Jerome Powell said Tuesday policymakers have made "quite a bit of progress" in bringing inflation back to their target, though they need to see more encouraging data before reducing interest rates, CNBC reported. Oxford Economics continues to expect that the Fed will cut interest rates at its policy setting meeting in September. The market probability for a September cut increased to 63% on Tuesday from 60% on Monday, according to the CME FedWatch tool.

Total private job openings ticked up to 7.06 million in May from 7.01 million the month prior, according to BLS data. Vacancies climbed by 97,000 in durable goods manufacturing while declining by 147,000 in accommodation and food services.

Job separations, which include quits and layoffs, edged up to 5.42 million from 5.34 million month over month, according to the survey. Quits ticked up to 3.46 million in May from 3.45 million in April, while layoffs and discharges rose to 1.65 million from 1.54 million.

"The quits rate was 2.2% for the seventh consecutive month," Vanden Houten said. "That rate is a touch below pre-pandemic levels and is consistent with ongoing moderation in wage growth, but isn't sending any signals about significant weakness in the labor market."

The number of layoffs and discharges increased by 71,000 in professional and business services and by 21,000 in leisure and hospitality while declining in both durable and nondurable manufacturing. Layoffs "remain low," Vanden Houten said.