US job openings hit more than 2-1/2-year low as labour market cools

livemint.com:

WASHINGTON : US job openings fell to more than a 2-1/2-year low in October, the strongest sign yet that higher interest rates were dampening demand for workers, and boosting financial markets expectations the Federal Reserve's monetary policy tightening cycle was over. The Labor Department's Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey, or JOLTS report, on Tuesday also showed that there were 1.34 vacancies for every unemployed person in October, the lowest since August 2021 and down from 1.47 in September. Fewer workers are resigning, which over time could help ease wage inflation.

The larger-than-expected decline in unfilled jobs followed data last week showing inflation subsiding in October. The run of inflation-friendly reports has led financial markets to anticipate a rate cut as early as next March. "These data will be welcome news for policymakers," said Rubeela Farooqi, chief U.S.

economist at High Frequency Economics in White Plains, New York. "The data support our view that rates are at a peak and the Fed's next move will be a rate cut, likely in second quarter of 2024." Job openings, a measure of labor demand, fell 617,000 to 8.733 million on the last day of October, the lowest level since March 2021 and down from 9.350 million in September, the Labor Department's Bureau of Labor Statistics said. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast 9.30 million job openings in October.

The largest monthly decline in vacancies since May was led by the health care and social assistance sector, where unfilled jobs dropped by 236,000. Job openings decreased by 168,000 in the finance and insurance industry, while real estate, rental and leasing had 49,000 fewer positions. But job openings increased by 39,000 in the information