US job openings, quits near three-year low as labor market eases
By Lucia Mutikani
WASHINGTON (Reuters) — U.S. job openings fell to nearly a three-year low in November as the labor market gradually cools, which could pave the way for the Federal Reserve to start cutting interest rates this year.
Americans are also feeling the shift in the labor market, with the report from the Labor Department on Wednesday showing the number of people quitting their jobs, most likely for higher paying positions, dropping to the lowest level since February 2021. With fewer people job-hopping, wage growth could continue to moderate and ultimately contribute to lower inflation.
But labor market conditions remain fairly strong. There were 1.4 job openings for every unemployed person compared to 1.36 in October. Layoffs were at the lowest level since December 2022. Financial markets are betting the U.S. central bank will begin cutting rates as early as March.
«The Fed is likely in a sweet spot as they prepare markets for an upcoming cut in rates,» said Jeffrey Roach, chief economist at LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Job openings, a measure of labor demand, were down 62,000 to 8.790 million by the last day of November, the Labor Department's Bureau of Labor Statistics said in its monthly Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey, or JOLTS report. That was the lowest level since March 2021.
Data for October was revised slightly up to show 8.852 million unfilled positions instead of the previously reported 8.733 million. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast 8.850 million job openings. Vacancies have declined from a record high of 12.0 million in March 2022 following 525 basis points worth of rate hikes from the Fed.
There were 128,000 fewer open positions in the transportation,
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