Job openings hovered near a four-year low in February as the labor market showed continued signs of slow cooling.
New data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics showed 7.57 million jobs open at the end of February, a decrease from the 7.76 million seen in January. Job openings in February remained near a level last seen in early 2021 and marked the lowest level since last September.
The data comes as investors closely watch for any signs that economic growth may be slowing further.
The January figure was revised higher from the 7.74 million open jobs initially reported. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg had expected Tuesday’s report to show 7.66 million openings in February.
“The February JOLTS report showed some cooling of labor market conditions but is unlikely to sway the Federal Reserve from its view that the job market is stable enough to withstand an extended period of unchanged interest rates as the central bank monitors progress on inflation,” Oxford Economics lead US economist Nancy Vanden Houten wrote in a note to clients on Tuesday.
As of Tuesday morning, investors were pricing in a roughly 66% chance the Federal Reserve cuts interest by the end of its June meeting, per the CME FedWatch Tool.
Read more about the latest economic data releases and today’s market action.
The Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) also showed that 5.4 million hires were made during the month, up slightly from the 5.39 million made during January. The hiring rate held flat at 3.4%. Also in Tuesday’s report, the quits rate, a sign of confidence among workers, fell to 2%, down from 2.1% the month prior.
Both the hiring and quits rates are hovering near decade lows. This could put the labor market in a tough position should layoffs begin to increase, per Invesco chief global market strategist Kristina Hooper.
“If we think we’re going to see layoffs increase, which I very much anticipate going forward, and we continue to have pretty tepid job growth, that’s a problem,” Hooper told Yahoo Finance. “And underscores that message that the risk of stagflation, or at least a deceleration in the economy and potential recession, is increasing.”
February’s JOLTS report comes as recent surveys have shown consumers are beginning to sour on the labor market. The most recent survey of consumers from the University of Michigan showed two-thirds of respondents expect the unemployment rate to move up in the year ahead, the highest reading since 2009. Also out on Tuesday, the Institute for Supply Management’s manufacturing employment index fell to 44.7% in February, down from 47.6% in February and at its lowest level since September 2024.
