US job vacancies drop in November, exceeding forecasts

US Job Openings See Larger-Than-Expected Decline in November

In November, the number of available jobs in the United States dropped more sharply than analysts had anticipated, reflecting a continued slowdown in the labor market as economic uncertainty persists. According to the Labor Department’s Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS), job vacancies decreased by 303,000, reaching 7.146 million at the end of the month. The previous month’s figures were also revised downward, showing 7.449 million openings instead of the earlier estimate of 7.670 million. This was below the 7.60 million unfilled positions that economists surveyed by Reuters had predicted. Additionally, hiring activity slowed, with 253,000 fewer positions filled, bringing the total number of hires to 5.115 million.