Underlying Job Market Dynamics Begin To Retighten; Fed Backpedaling On Pace And Depth Of Rate Cuts

Summary

• The underlying dynamics of the labor market bounced back in October, according to JOLTS from the Bureau of Labor Statistics on Tuesday.
• The Fed has already started backpedaling from the pace and depth of the rate cuts envisioned after its monster rate cut in September, which was triggered by what we now know was a false alarm about the labor market.
• Voluntary quits spiked by 228,000 in October from September, the biggest jump since May 2023, to 3.33 million, the highest level of quits since May.

Klaus Vedfelt

The underlying dynamics of the labor market bounced back in October, according to the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) from the Bureau of Labor Statistics on Tuesday. The data continues to be muddled by the Boeing strike that lasted through