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U.S. job openings barely budged in October, coming in at 7.7 million with ongoing uncertainty over the direction of the American economy. The Labor Department reported Tuesday that employers posted 7.67 million vacancies in October, close to Septembers 7.66 million. The Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS), which was delayed by the extended government shutdown, also showed that layoffs rose to almost 1.9 million, the most since January 2023. And the number of people quitting their jobsa sign of confidence in the labor marketfell in October, suggesting that businesses seeking to control labor costs will have to pivot to active layoffs, lifting unemployment, rather than rely on natural attrition, Samuel Tombs, chief U.S. economist at Pantheon, wrote in a commentary. Job openings have come down steadily since peaking at a record 12.1 million in March 2022, when the economy was roaring back from COVID-19 lockdowns. The job market has cooled partly because of the lingering effect of the high interest rates the Federal Reserve engineered in 2022 and 2023 to combat an outburst of inflation. Overall, its a puzzling time for the American economy, buffeted by President Donald Trumps decision to reverse decades of U.S. policy in favor of free trade and instead impose double-digit tariffs on imports from most of the worlds countries. Policymakers at the Federal Reserve are meeting this week to decide whether to cut their benchmark interest rate, and the gathering is expected to be unusually contentious. Inflation remains stuck above the Feds 2% target, partly because importers have tried to pass along the cost of Trumps tariffs by raising prices. Normally, stubborn inflation would discourage Fed policymakers from cutting rates. But the job market has looked shaky in recent months, and the Fed is expected to reduce its benchmark rate for the third time this year, though some policymakers might dissent. Meanwhile, the 43-day federal shutdown has made a mess of the governments economic statistics. The October report on job openings came out a week late, and the September version was not published separately because federal data collectors were on furlough. Instead, Septembers JOLTS numbers were folded into Tuesdays report along with Octobers. They showed a hefty increase in openings from 7.23 million in August. The Labor Department will issue numbers for hiring and unemployment for November next Tuesday, 11 days later than originally scheduled. The department is not releasing an unemployment rate for October because it could not calculate the number during the shutdown. It will release some of the October jobs dataincluding the number of positions that employers created that monthalong with the full November jobs report. Forecasters surveyed by the data firm FactSet predict that employers added fewer than 38,000 jobs in November and that the unemployment rate ticked up to 4.5% from Septembers 4.4%. That would be low by historical standards, but the highest in nearly four years. By Paul Wiseman, AP economics writer
Category:
E-Commerce
Google faces fresh antitrust scrutiny from European Union regulators, who opened an investigation Tuesday into the company’s use of online content for its artificial intelligence models and services. The latest regulatory flexing by the European Commission in Brussels risks antagonizing President Donald Trump’s administration, though EU officials denied they were singling out American Big Tech companies. The European Commission, which is the 27-nation bloc’s top antitrust enforcer, said it’s examining whether Google has breached competition rules through its use of content from web publishers and material uploaded to YouTube for AI purposes. Regulators are concerned that Google has given itself an unfair advantage by using content for two search services, AI Overviews and AI Mode, without paying publishers and content creators or letting them opt out. AI Overviews are automatically generated summaries that appear at the top of its traditional search results, while AI Mode provides chatbot-style answers to search queries. They’re also examining whether Google uses videos uploaded to YouTube under similar conditions to train its generative AI models, while shutting out rival AI model developers. Officials said they’re seeking to determine whether Google gained an edge over AI rivals by imposing unfair terms and conditions, or giving itself privileged access to content. This complaint risks stifling innovation in a market that is more competitive than ever,” Google said in a statement. Europeans deserve to benefit from the latest technologies, and we will continue to work closely with the news and creative industries as they transition to the AI era. The Commission, which is the bloc’s executive arm, is carrying out the investigation under the EU’s longstanding competition regulations, rather than its newer Digital Markets Act that was drawn up to prevent Big Tech companies from monopolizing online markets. “AI is bringing remarkable innovation and many benefits for people and businesses across Europe, but this progress cannot come at the expense of the principles at the heart of our societies,” Teresa Ribera, the Commissions vice president overseeing competition affairs, said in a statement. Last week the Commission opened an antitrust investigation into WhatsApp’s AI policy. It also fined Elon Musk’s social media platform X 120 million euros ($140 million) for breaching digital regulations, which drew complaints from Trump officials that American companies were being targeted. The Commission is agnostic about the nationality of companies it is investigating, spokeswoman Arianna Podesta said. Of course, the sole focus of our antitrust investigations is possible illegal behavior and the harm that this could bring to competition and consumers within the European Union, Podesta told reporters at a regular briefing in Brussels. Google will have the chance to reply to the concerns, and the Commission has also informed U.S. authorities about the investigation, she said. Brussels has no deadline to wrap up the case, which could result in sanctions including a fine worth up to 10% of the companys annual global revenue. By Kelvin Chan, AP business writer Associated Press writer Sam McNeil contributed to this report.
Category:
E-Commerce
Some bad news for Americans with student loans. The Trump administration’s Department of Education announced on Tuesday that millions of borrowers who are enrolled in the Saving on a Valuable Education (SAVE) plan may soon need to select a new repayment plan, part of a settlement with the state of Missouri. If approved, the move could force millions of Americans to repay their federal student loans, ending the current pause in payments and interest aimed at student debt relief, a holdover from the Biden administration. What is Saving on a Valuable Education plan, or SAVE? SAVE is a popular federal student loan income-driven repayment plan (IDR), which caps, or puts a maximum limit, “on how much borrowers must may monthly federal student loan bills at a portion of their income, and it forgives remaining debt after a set number of payments, according to Nerd Wallet. Why is SAVE ending now? SAVE has been in legal limbo since February 2025, when the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals decided the Biden administration was not authorized to establish the SAVE program. President Donald Trumps One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA), which he signed into law this summer, did not renew student loan forgiveness, which is set to expire at the end of this year, which means student loans are eligible to be taxed, once again. As Mike Pierce, executive director of the Student Borrower Protection Center (SBPC), previously told Fast Company: “There are two things that student loan borrowers need to know: There are changes in the way student debt is taxed, and the other is Congress didnt extend tax-free student loan forgiveness.” More than 7.6 million student loan borrowers are in SAVE forbearance, according to Education Department as reported by CNBC. Previously interest-free, SAVE borrower accounts resumed accruing taxes on August 1, according to Nerd Wallet.
Category:
E-Commerce
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