Job Openings Report Higher Than Expected as Fed Watches for Change 

Economists had expected the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ November report, the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS), to fall to 10 million job openings, but instead closed the month at 10.45 million, reflecting 1.7 jobs for every unemployed person, in a still hot labor market. The greatest number of new job openings were reported in professional and business services (212,000 new openings) with drops in finance and insurance (75,000) and federal government positions (44,000), in particular. The Fed has said that its near-term decisions largely rest on the tight labor market which, if persistent, could result in further interest rate hikes to contain inflation.  Read more.