U.S. job openings aren’t looking great, falling to their lowest level in more than five years, the Associated Press reported.
The Labor Department reported Thursday that vacancies fell to 6.5 million in December — from 6.9 million in November, the fewest since September 2020. Layoffs rose slightly. The number of people quitting their jobs — which shows confidence in their prospects — remained mostly unchanged at 3.2 million.
December openings came in lower than economists had forecast.
Employers have added just 28,000 jobs a month since March. In the 2021-2023 hiring boom that followed COVID-19 lockdowns, that number was at 400,000 jobs a month.
