Directions: The questions in this group are based on the content of a passage. After reading the passage, choose the best answer to each question. Answer all questions following the passage on the basis of what is stated or implied in the passage.

As the job market softens somewhat, workers may be losing some of the leverage they gained when the market was tighter. The rate at which workers voluntarily quit their jobs has fallen sharply in recent months—though it edged up in May—and is only modestly above where it was before the pandemic disrupted the U.S. labor market. When workers quit jobs, it reflects their confidence that they can find another, better job. A report indicated that hourly earnings for hotel and restaurant workers rose 28 percent from the end of 2020 to the end of 2022, which was faster than the rates of both inflation and overall wage growth. But now, after surging in late 2021 and early 2022, growth for low-wage workers has slowed, and fewer workers in the hospitality industry are separating from their jobs now compared with the same period last year.

This slowing wage growth could be seen as a sign that workers are losing ground. But another possible reason that wage growth has slowed is that many workers’ base pay has gone up compared with a couple of years ago. Employers are giving raises off a wage rate that has risen a lot since the spring of 2021. The Fed will be happy to see the job market cooling off, so we might see fewer interest-rate hikes in the months to come: Reduced competition for workers is going to reduce wage growth, which is—in the Fed’s view—going to put less pressure on employers to raise prices, so that should bring inflation down.