The number of job openings in the United States decreased to 8.8 million in November, the lowest in more than two years.

The new numbers, including openings across all sectors for that month, were released as part of the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey, which was updated by the Bureau of Labor Statistics on Wednesday. The decrease is notable and marks the lowest level of job openings since March 2021.

The monthly decline came as a surprise to economists and could be a sign that the labor market is beginning to soften under the weight of the Federal Reserve’s high interest rates.

About 3.5 million workers quit their jobs in November, little changed from the month before. The figure is equivalent to about 2.2% of the workforce.

The “quits rate” measures the share of people who voluntarily left their jobs and includes those who left their previous employment for another job and people who quit but are confident they will soon find new employment, given the tightness in the labor market.

Also of note in Wednesday’s JOLTS report, layoffs and discharges were little changed at 1.5 million in November.

The labor market has remained strong despite the Fed’s rate hikes, which began in earnest back in March 2022. The economy broke expectations again in November and added nearly 200,000 jobs. The unemployment rate also dropped slightly to 3.7%, right around where it was in the months before the pandemic.

Because of the recent progress in bringing down inflation, the Fed is now eyeing a pivot to cutting rates. The central bank has held interest rates where they are since July, but now appears to be on the verge of cutting, with the first cut expected as soon as March.

Fed officials, while stressing that they could still raise rates even more if inflation proves too sticky, have penciled in three rate cuts next year, although investors think there will be up to six downward revisions.

Economic growth has also proven solid despite the higher rates.

Gross domestic product expanded at a 4.9% seasonally adjusted annual rate in the third quarter of this year – the strongest growth since the country’s pandemic rebound. GDP growth was 2.1% in the second quarter and 2.2% in the first quarter of this year. The Atlanta Fed’s “GDP Now” tracker predicts that GDP growth in the final quarter of this year will be 2%.