Job Market: What's Happening in the U. S. ?

The U. S. job market is in a bit of a funk. In October, there were about 7. 7 million job openings. That's not a huge change from September, but it's a far cry from the peak of 12. 1 million openings in March 2022. Back then, the economy was bouncing back from COVID-19 lockdowns. Layoffs are up, too. They hit nearly 1. 9 million in October, the highest since January 2023. And fewer people are quitting their jobs, which usually means they're not feeling too confident about the job market. High interest rates have played a big role in cooling down the job market. The Federal Reserve raised rates in 2022 and 2023 to fight inflation. Now, the Fed is meeting to decide if they should cut rates. Inflation is still above their 2% target, but the job market is looking shaky. The government shutdown has made things even more confusing. The October job openings report was late, and the September report wasn't even published separately. Instead, the numbers were combined with October's. Forecasters think employers added fewer than 38, 000 jobs in November. That would push the unemployment rate up to 4. 5%, the highest in nearly four years. But still, it's not too bad compared to historical standards.