U.S. job openings unexpectedly increased in December and data for the prior month was revised higher, suggesting that the labor market likely remains too strong for the Federal Reserve to start cutting interest rates in the first quarter, Reuters reported. Nevertheless, the labor market is gradually cooling, with the report from the Labor Department on Tuesday also showing Americans staying put at their current jobs, which could help to slow wage growth. The number of people quitting their jobs, likely in part for greener pastures, was the lowest in nearly three years. There were 1.44 positions for every unemployed person, steady from November, but down from two jobs in March 2022, when the U.S. central bank started hiking rates. Fed officials are expected to keep rates unchanged at the end of a two-day policy meeting on Wednesday against the backdrop of a resilient economy, which is being anchored by the labor market through consumer spending. Financial markets have lowered the odds of a rate cut in March to well below 50%.
