"U.S. Job Openings Plunge, Revealing a Divided Workforce as Hiring Boom Cools"

U.S. job openings in November fell to a two-year low of 8.79 million, signaling a cooling labor market in response to the Federal Reserve's aggressive interest rate hikes aimed at controlling inflation. Despite the decrease, job openings remain historically high with 1.5 jobs per unemployed American. The Fed's rate hikes have lifted the federal funds rate to its highest since 2001, but signs of slowing inflation may lead to a shift in policy, potentially including rate cuts. Workers are becoming less confident in job-switching as the number of Americans quitting jobs slightly decreased, while layoffs remained stable.