Catenaa, Tuesday, December 09, 2025- US job openings barely budged in October, coming in at 7.7 million with ongoing uncertainty over the direction of the American economy.
The Labor Department reported Tuesday that employers posted 7.67 million vacancies in October, close to September’s 7.66 million.
The Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS), which was delayed by the extended government shutdown, also showed that the layoffs rose and the number of people quitting their jobs, a sign of confidence in the labor market, fell in October.
Job openings have come down steadily since peaking at a record 12.1 million in March 2022, when the economy was roaring back from COVID-19 lockdowns.
The job market has cooled partly because of the lingering effect of the high interest rates the Federal Reserve engineered in 2022 and 2023 to combat an outburst of inflation.
Overall, it’s a puzzling time for the American economy, buffeted by President Donald Trump’s decision to reverse decades of US policy in favor of free trade and instead impose double-digit tariffs on imports from most of the world.
Policymakers at the Federal Reserve are meeting this week to decide whether to cut their benchmark interest rate, and the gathering is expected to be unusually contentious.
Inflation remains stuck above the Fed’s 2% target, partly because importers have tried to pass along the cost of Trump’s tariffs by raising prices. Normally, stubborn inflation would discourage Fed policymakers from cutting rates.
But the job market has looked shaky in recent months, and the Fed is expected to reduce its benchmark rate for the third time this year, though some policymakers might dissent.
The Labor Department will issue numbers for hiring and unemployment in November next Tuesday, 11 days later than originally scheduled.
