U.S. job openings fell in December, a sign that the labor market is cooling but still healthy, according to the Associated Press.
Openings fell to 7.6 million, from 8.2 million in November, the Labor Department reported Tuesday. They were down from 8.9 million a year earlier and a peak of 12.2 million in March 2022 when the economy was rebounding from COVID-19 lockdowns. The openings fell short of the 7.9 million that economists had expected.
The number of layoffs fell, suggesting that Americans are enjoying unusual job security. The number of people quitting their jobs rose modestly but stayed below pre-pandemic levels. After surging in 2021 and 2022, quits have come down as workers lose confidence in their ability to find better pay or working conditions elsewhere.
The Labor Department’s Job Openings and Labor Turnover Summary showed that professional and business services companies — a broad category that includes managers and technical workers — scaled back their job postings. Openings also fell in health care and social assistance and finance and insurance but ticked higher in arts, entertainment, and recreation.
The American labor market has slowed from the frenzied hiring of 2021–23, but hiring has remained solid despite high interest rates.
