US equities slip after job openings disappointment

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US equities slipped early in today’s session on February’s disappointing Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) report.

The release shows that job openings continued to drop, while quits also declined. Hiring and firing rates were mostly unchanged. Layoffs, however, were on the rise.

The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite indexes fell as much as 0.7% and 0.8%, respectively, after the report was published.

Job openings came in at 7.56 million — a four-year low — compared with a projected 7.63 million. Additional DOGE-related layoffs and slowdowns in federal hiring are likely not included in February’s figures.

Odds of a May interest rate cut from the Federal Reserve ticked up slightly on the report. Those odds now sit at 15.2%, per data from CME Group.

Friday’s March employment report will give markets, and central bankers, a better look at current labor market conditions. If inflation continues to inch higher and the employment situation deteriorates further, the current pause may not last much longer.