Job Openings Plunge in Sign of Cooling Labor Market
• Job openings in the U.S. dropped significantly in October to 8.7 million, the lowest level since March 2021. This was lower than economists' expectations.
• The cooling labor market is being closely watched by the Federal Reserve as it decides on interest rate policy. A slowing job market could mean the Fed won't raise rates further.
• Even with the recent decline, the job market remains relatively healthy - the unemployment rate ticked up slightly in October to 4%, which is similar to pre-pandemic levels.
• Inflation has slowed since the Fed started raising rates, but still remains above the Fed's 2% target at 5.25-5.5% currently.
• The November jobs report coming on Friday will provide more insight into the state of the labor market ahead of the Fed's next policy meeting December 12-13.