Meta on the second route of massive layoffs

Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, is set to lay off around 10,000 employees, representing approximately 13% of its workforce. The job cuts will affect the company's recruiting team this week, with further restructuring to follow in April and May. In addition to cutting staff, the company is closing approximately 5,000 job postings that have yet to be filled. This marks Meta's second round of layoffs in six months, following a November 2022 announcement that saw 11,000 jobs lost. The company has been reducing unchecked growth and trimming employee perks since a global digital advertising slowdown. The move is part of the company's plan to streamline its operations and focus on efficiency, with CEO Mark Zuckerberg saying that he wants to reduce the number of middle managers.  Meta has struggled with the privacy changes to Apple's mobile operating system and increased competition from TikTok and is in the midst of a difficult transition to a "metaverse" company.

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/14/technology/meta-facebook-layoffs.html

Job openings declined in January but still far outnumber available workers

https://www.cnbc.com/2023/03/08/job-openings-declined-in-january-but-still-far-outnumber-available-workers.html 

The Labor Department's Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) has shown that there exist 10.824 million job openings, down by about 410,000 from December of 2022, with 1.9 job openings per available worker, with a total gap of 5.13 million between workers and job openings.

The JOLTS report further stated that hiring was brisk for the month, with employers bringing on 6.37 million workers, the highest total since August. The payroll processing form ADP reported that companies added 244,000 workers for February, despite Fed rate hikes.

Federal reserve officials take the JOLTS report closely as they formulate monetary policy, with Jerome Powell calling the jobs market "extremely tight," and cautioned that recent data showing resurgent inflationary pressures could push interest rates higher. 

Total separations didn't experience much change, but quits, a signal of worker confidence in mobility fell to 3.88 million, which is the lowest since May 2021. layoffs rose up sharply, up 241,000, or 16%

There existed some other signs of softness in the job market, however, with construction openings falling by 49% (240,000), with an additional 16000 jobs being lost in February. The Leisure and Hospitality sector also saw a decline of 194,000 in January. 

According to the article, the markets will gain a more comprehensive overview of the jobs market with the Labor department's nonfarm payroll report released on Friday, but economists surveyed by Dow Jones expect payrolls to increase by 225,000, with unemployment remaining constant at 3.4%