New York (CNN Business) The economy may be slowing down, but as of December, it was still a very good time to look for a job.

The number of job openings reached 7.3 million at the end of 2018 , the highest level since the Labor Department started measuring them in 2000. That pushed the job opening rate -- the number of openings as a share of total employment -- back to the high it reached last August.

The reading suggests that the labor market remains very strong, despite nearly universal forecasts that the economy will slow toward the end of the year. That has prompted the Federal Reserve to hold off hiking interest rates for at least the next several months.

Another measure released Tuesday, the National Federation of Independent Business' small business optimism index, fell in January to its lowest level since President Donald Trump's election -- even though business owners still say quickly adding jobs and finding workers are their biggest challenges.

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