JOLTS: Labor market coming into balance

Wells Fargo Research Team Wells Fargo

Summary

The October JOLTS report is supportive of the view that labor supply and demand have come into better balance. Job openings fell to 8.73 million at the end of the month, the lowest reading since March 2021. The ratio of openings to unemployed persons is 1.34, only a bit above the 1.2 ratio that prevailed before the pandemic. The quit rate is also in line with its pre-pandemic level in a sign that workers are no longer quitting their jobs at the same pace they were when the labor market was at its hottest. On balance, today's labor market data are consistent with a cooling labor market and decelerating wages, which bodes well for future progress in the Federal Reserve's fight to bring inflation back to its 2% target.

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Wells Fargo Research Team

Wells Fargo

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