US Has Fewer Job Openings Than Expected

US job openings fell in March to the lowest level in nearly two years, a sign that the American labor market is cooling in the face of higher interest rates, per the AP. Employers posted 9.6 million vacancies in March, down from nearly 10 million in February, and layoffs rose to the highest level since December 2020, the Labor Department reported Tuesday. The upshot is that the American job market remains strong but appears to be losing momentum.

Monthly job openings had never exceeded 10 million until 2021, but then came 20 straight months above that threshold. The streak ended in February. Tuesday's number of job openings came in slightly lower than expected, which CNBC explains could ease the pressure on the Federal Reserve to keep raising rates. (The Fed is meeting this week.) That development would typically please investors, but Wall Street was having a lousy day nevertheless. The Dow was down about 500 points around 11am, and all the major indexes were down by more than 1%.

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