Investing.com -- US job openings were lower than anticipated in September, slipping to their lowest level since January 2021, in a possible sign of a gradually slowing labor market that could bolster the case for the Federal Reserve to once again slash interest rates in November.
The Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey, or JOLTS report, also showed that the amount of workers who left their jobs voluntarily inched down slightly by 107,000 to 3.1 million, suggesting that Americans are becoming less confident that they can find new employment. The number of layoffs, meanwhile, moved up by 165,000 to 1.8 million.
There were roughly 1.08 open positions for every unemployed person in September, down from 1.09 in August.
Fed Chair Jerome Powell has noted that the labor market has cooled over the past year, with workers generally viewing jobs as "somewhat less available" than they were prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. Powell and his fellow policymakers, who moved to slash interest rates by an outsized 50 basis points in September in a bid to support labor demand, face a fresh policy decision next month.
Markets are pricing in a smaller quarter-point cut at the gathering, rather than another jumbo reduction, according to CME Group's (NASDAQ:CME) closely-monitored FedWatch Tool. There is also about a 75% chance the Fed cuts rates by 25 basis points again at its final meeting in December.
Rhetoric from Fed policymakers has pointed to a shift in the central bank's major focus to bolstering the labor market and away from its long-time goal of corralling inflation. Along with the JOLTS data, separate official figures this week should provide more insight into the state of the jobs market.
The amount of job openings in the US dipped to 7.443 million in September, falling from a downwardly-revised 7.861 million in the prior month, partly due to declines in the health care and social assistance sector. Economists had anticipated a reading of 7.980 million.
Hires, meanwhile, moved up by 123,000 to 5.558 million thanks in part to additions in the manufacturing and retail trade industries.