U.S. job openings declined in February, and hiring pace significantly slowed down.

Odaily Planet Daily reports that in the U.S., February job openings fell, and hiring clearly slowed, indicating that before the additional uncertainty sparked by the Iran war, labor demand had already begun to cool. Data released by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics on Tuesday showed that job openings fell from 7.24 million, revised for January, to 6.88 million. After job openings rebounded briefly at the start of the year, hiring and vacancies moving in tandem toward slower pace suggests that, after a year of near-zero growth, companies are becoming more cautious about hiring. Looking ahead, the war-driven surge in oil prices could raise companies’ operating costs and pose resistance to further hiring. The decline in job openings was mainly driven by pullbacks in accommodation and food services, healthcare and social assistance, and manufacturing. The hiring rate fell to its lowest level since April 2020, while the layoff rate edged up slightly. Although large companies, including Meta and Oracle, are rolling out large-scale layoffs to reallocate resources to AI investment, the overall layoff level across the broader economy remains relatively mild. (Jin Ten)