Jobs market shows slowdown 

According to the Associated Press, the hot jobs market that has been defying a weakening economy and confounding the Federal Reserve for months now shows signs of cooling. 

The latest set of employment data from the government shows that job openings fell in March to their lowest level since April 2021. Layoffs rose to 1.8 million, their highest level since December 2020. 

Employers are also slowing the pace of hiring. While hiring remained strong in April, the government lowered its hiring figures for February and March. More broadly, job gains for February through April marked the weakest three-month average since January 2021. 

Factors including tighter business conditions, weak sentiment, and declining job openings will likely keep impacting future labor data. 

The strong job market and higher wages for workers have resisted the Fed’s efforts to cool inflation, while also keeping a weakening economy from slipping into a recession.  

Wall Street is closely watching how companies react to the economic slowdown. Analysts expect many of the layoffs announced over the past few months by companies like Google and Facebook to have a lag effect on broader employment data this year.