U.S. job openings tumbled in March to the lowest level in two years, an early sign the Federal Reserve’s aggressive interest-rate hike campaign is beginning to cool the labor market.
The Labor Department said Tuesday that there were 9.6 million job openings in March, a decline from the 9.9 million openings reported in the previous month. Economists surveyed by Refinitiv expected openings to fall to 9.7 million.
The Federal Reserve closely watches these figures as it tries to gauge labor market tightness and wrestle inflation under control.
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The central bank has responded to the inflation crisis and the extremely tight labor market by raising interest rates at the fastest pace in decades. Officials have raised interest rates nine times so far over the past year and are widely expected to approve a tenth increase at the conclusion of their two-day meeting on Wednesday.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.