Updated at 10:41 AM EST
The number of job openings in the U.S. economy remained steady last month, suggesting the labor market carried solid momentum into the start of the year.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey, known as Jolts, showed that just over 9.02 million positions went unfilled in December. That’s up from the revised total of 8.93 million recorded in November and the highest total since September.
The quits rate, which tracks workers leaving their jobs voluntarily – often for pay increases in new positions – was unchanged from November at 2.2%.
That resilience is likely to be a key focus of the report as investors look for evidence that wage pressures, which the Fed is concerned can stoke inflation, remained steady into the year-end.
Layoffs are starting to tick higher into the start of the year, with big cuts unveiled by UPS, Macy’s, Google and eBay.
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Challenger Gray’s closely tracked report of U.S. job cuts, published earlier this month, showed that overall December layoffs were up 24% from November, and the second-lowest total of the year, at just over 34,800.
“Employers are still extremely cautious and in cost-cutting mode heading into 2024, so the hiring process will likely slow for many job seekers and cuts will continue in Q1, though at a slower pace,” Andy Challenger, senior vice president, said in a statement.
The Labor Department’s Bureau of Labor Statistics will report its official January payroll report on Friday, with economists expecting net new hires of around 180,000 and a headline unemployment rate of 3.7%.
“The report boils down to no news is good news. Job openings are still a healthy level above those seeking work, and the other numbers remain where a healthy labor market should find them,” said Robert Frick, corporate economist with Navy Federal Credit Union.
“While openings did tick up, the increase is well within the margin of error,” he added. “This helps make the case for a continued expansion of the jobs market, and probably a consensus-beating jobs report Friday, or more than 200,000 jobs added.”
Related: Jobs report shows 216,000 new hires, testing bets on spring Fed rate cuts
Stocks maintained declines following the Jolts data release, with the S&P 500 marked 6 points lower, or 0.11%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 70 points. The Nasdaq was down 45 points, or 0.3%.
Treasury bond yields were steady, with benchmark 10-year notes trading 3 basis points higher at 4.093% and 2-year notes pegged at 4.339%.
The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of its global currency peers, was marked 0.09% lower at 103.530.
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