U.S. job openings slipped to 9.9 million in February—fewest since May 2021—and a sign that the job market may be starting to cool.
OPEC+, which is led by Saudi Arabia and Russia, announced it is cutting oil output by 1.2 million gallons per day starting in May.Vacancies fell from 10.6 million in January, the Labor Department said Tuesday, notably in healthcare and in professional services, which includes managerial and technical jobs. Openings rose for construction workers.
The American job market has proven resilient in the face of sharply higher interest rates. Over the past year, the Fed has raised its benchmark rate nine times in a drive to corral inflation that last year hit a four-decade high. The surge in consumer prices has eased since mid-2022 but remains well over the central bank's 2% year-over-year target.