Investing.com -- The number of job openings available in the U.S. fell to its lowest level in almost two years in March, as the labor market in the world's largest economy shows signs of cooling in response to rising interest rates.
Job vacancies in the country dropped to 9.590 million on the last business day of the month, down from an upwardly revised mark of 9.974M in February, according to the latest Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (or JOLTS) from the Labor Department. Economists had predicted that the figure would slip to 9.775M.
Leading the decline in job openings were service-oriented industries that have become a focal point of the recent strength of the labor market. Vacancies in transportation, warehousing and utitilies slipped by 144,000, while professional and business services fell by 135,000. Openings in the retail trade and healthcare sectors also decreased by 84,000 and 71,000, respectively.
Meanwhile, the number of workers who voluntarily quit their jobs edged down by 129,000 to 3.851M. Although the change on a month-on-month basis was relatively muted, the move could be a signal that employees are becoming less confident that they will find new employment should they leave their current positions. These so-called "quits" were most pronounced in accommodation and food services.
The JOLTS numbers, which are often used as a proxy for labor market demand, come as the Federal Reserve begins its latest two-day policy meeting. Cooling off the red-hot job market in the U.S. has been a key pillar of the Fed's recently aggressive rate-hiking campaign, with some officials arguing that a softening in this part of the economy may subsequently help bring down elevated inflation.