US job openings dropped to the lowest level in more than five years in December and data for the prior month was revised lower amid a softening in labor market conditions at the end of 2025.
Job openings, a measure of labor demand, decreased by 386,000 to 6.542m by the last day of December, the lowest level since September 2020, the labor department’s Bureau of Labor Statistics said in its Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey, or Jolts report, on Thursday.
Data for November was revised down to show 6.928m job openings instead of the previously reported 7.146m. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast 7.20m unfilled jobs. Hiring increased by 172,000 positions to a still-low 5.293m in December.
The data came as other numbers showed a larger-than-expected increase in Americans filing new applications for unemployment benefits last week, but the underlying trend remained consistent with a stable labor market.
The biggest rise in weekly jobless claims in nearly two months reported by the labor department on Thursday probably reflected distortions from snowstorms across much of the country as well as normalization after volatility linked to difficulties adjusting the data for seasonal fluctuations around the holiday season and at the turn of the year.
“There is no sign of the kind of layoffs we expect to see in a weakening labor market during the early days of a recession,” said Carl Weinberg, chief economist at High Frequency Economics. “The level of claims is just very low. Claims are well within the recent range over the last two years.”
Initial claims for state unemployment benefits jumped 22,000, the largest increase since early December, to a seasonally adjusted 231,000 for the week ended 31 January, the labor department said on Thursday. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast 212,000 claims for the latest week.
Heavy snow and freezing temperatures blanketed large portions of the country towards the end of January, which could have left some people unemployed temporarily. Claims shot up in Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, Illinois, Missouri, Ohio and Wisconsin.
Claims are also probably rising as the volatility in late 2025 and early this year washes out of the data.
Through the distortions, the labor market remains in what economists call a “low hire, low fire” mode.
Friday’s job report, which would give the most accurate snapshot of the jobs market, has been delayed by the US government’s latest shutdown.
Reuters contributed reporting
