US equities slip after job openings disappointment

This is a segment from the Forward Guidance newsletter. To read full editions, subscribe .

US equities slipped early in today’s session on February’s disappointing Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey ( JOLTS ) report. 

The release shows that job openings continued to drop, while quits also declined. Hiring and firing rates were mostly unchanged. Layoffs, however, were on the rise. 

The SP 500 and Nasdaq Composite indexes fell as much as 0.7% and 0.8%, respectively, after the report was published. 

Job openings came in at 7.56 million — a four-year low — compared with a projected 7.63 million. Additional DOGE-related layoffs and slowdowns in federal hiring are likely not included in February’s figures. 

Odds of a May interest rate cut from the Federal Reserve ticked up slightly on the report. Those odds now sit at 15.2%, per data from CME Group. 

Friday’s March employment report will give markets, and central bankers, a better look at current labor market conditions. If inflation continues to inch higher and the employment situation deteriorates further, the current pause may not last much longer.

Get the news in your inbox. Explore Blockworks newsletters:

• Blockworks Daily : The newsletter that helps thousands of investors understand crypto and the markets, by Byron Gilliam.
• Empire : Start your morning with the top news and analysis to inform your day in crypto.
• Forward Guidance : Reporting and analysis on the growing intersection of crypto and macroeconomics, policy and finance.
• 0xResearch : Alpha directly in your inbox. Market highlights, data, degen trade ideas, governance updates, token performance and more.
• Lightspeed : Built for Solana investors, developers and community members. The latest from one of crypto’s hottest networks.
• The Drop : For crypto collectors and traders, covering apps, games, memes and more.
• Supply Shock : Tracking Bitcoin’s rise from internet plaything worth less than a penny to global phenomenon disrupting money as we know it.