US job openings fell in November to their lowest level since March 2021, in a sign that America’s resilient job market is continuing to cool.
There were a seasonally adjusted 8.79 million job openings in November, the Labor Department reported Wednesday. That’s down from October’s upwardly revised 8.85 million and roughly in line with economists’ expectations of 8.77 million openings, according to FactSet.
While job vacancies are down from a record 12 million in March 2022, they’re still above pre-pandemic levels, according to the latest Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey report.
Wednesday’s figures show that the job market is continuing its steady cooldown, with economic activity slowing as interest rates remain at a 22-year high. Federal Reserve officials have said the economy might need to slow even further to be assured that inflation is on its way to the central bank’s 2% target.
This story is developing and will be updated.
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