US job openings remain near cycle highs in November, quits tick higher
A key gauge of labour market tightness in the US was little changed towards the end of 2022, contrary to expectations, the results of a closely-followed survey revealed.
According to the US Department of Labor, in seasonally adjusted terms the number of job openings dipped from 10.512m in October to 10.458m in November.
That was better than the drop to 9.9m anticipated by economists.
Furthermore, the JOLTS survey showed that October's tally had been revised up from a previous estimate of 10.334m.
It was a similar story on the hiring front, the number of hires slipped from 6.111m to 6.055m.
The proportion of so-called 'quits' or voluntary separations meanwhile ticked higher by one tenth of a percentage point from the month before to reach 2.7%.
Job openings and quits - but especially the former - are considered by many economists a good gauge of labour market tightness and hence wage pressures.
Despite the latest data, as of 1536 GMT the yield on the benchmark 10-year US Treasury note was moving sharply lower and was last trading down by around four basis points to 3.706%.