Total US job openings fell -386k to 6.54 million in December, with private openings seeing a larger decline of -423k to 5.80 million. This is the lowest level of job openings since 2021.

• In terms of the job openings rates, the overall and private openings rates both fell -0.3 ppts MoM and -0.6 ppts YoY to 3.9% and 4.1%, respectively.
• Total hires increased by 172k to 5.29 million, while total separations increased 107k to 5.25 million.
• Total quits edged up by 11k to 3.2 million, back to levels last seen in Q2 2025. The quits rate is actually up 0.1 ppt YoY.
• Total layoffs and discharges increased by 61k to 1.76 million, with private layoffs and discharges increased by 70k to 1.969 million.
• The number of job openings for November was revised down by 218k to 6.9 million, the number of hires was revised up by 6k to 5.1 million, and the number of total separations was revised up by 64k to 5.1 million.

Job openings fell -303k to 7.15 million (vs 7.60 million expected) in November, now down -81k from August (across the shutdown data points).

• Private job openings were down -214k to 6.45 million, and the private job openings rate fell -0.2 ppts to 4.5%, equal to the August rate.
• Total hires fell -253k to 5.11 million (down around -11k since August), while total separations increased 11k to 5.08 million (down around -31k since August).
• Total quits increased 188k to 3.16 million (up 70k since August), pushing the quits rate up 0.1 ppt to 2.0%.
• Total layoffs and discharges spiked to 1.85 million in October but are now down -163k to 1.69 million in November. The level is now lower than a year ago by -52k.

The JOLTS report at 10 am provided an update on two months' worth of data, September and October; however, the BLS noted that the September statistics are based on “partial data” due to disruptions caused by the government shutdown. Therefore, in this case, it’s worth more to look at changes over the last two months. Here are the key highlights from the October JOLTS report:

• The headline US job openings number increased to 7.67 million in October, up 443k from the August total of 7.23 million. The job openings rate jumped from 4.3% in August to 4.6% in October.
• Total private job openings increased from 6.46 million in August to 6.89 million in October, with the private job openings rate up 0.3 ppts to 4.8% over the last 2 months.
• Total hires increased just 23,000 from August to October, and total separations fell by -61,000. Within separations, total quits were down -141,000 while total layoffs and discharges increased by 129,000.
• Total private layoffs & discharges increased by 111,000 from August to October. Businesses with 10 to 49 employees and with 50 to 249 employees saw the largest increases in the private layoffs & discharges rates, up 0.2 ppts to 1.3% and up 0.3 ppts to 1.4%, respectively.

The JOLTS data looked to be a bit mixed in the October report, with a large increase in job openings being countered with a decline in quits and an increase in layoffs and discharges. Taken together, the details suggest a labor market that is no longer as overheated as it was in 2022 and early 2023, but that still retains pockets of resilience, particularly on the demand side. The continued rise in openings points to firms maintaining a need for additional workers (that they aren’t finding due to lower labor supply), yet the slowdown in quits and the uptick in layoffs indicate that workers are feeling less secure in their employment. This combination supports the narrative of a labor market that is lacking dynamism rather than weakening sharply, with hiring conditions normalizing but not collapsing as the year draws to a close.

US job openings increased just 19k to 7.23 million in August, roughly in line with expectations of 7.2 million, and the job openings rate was unchanged at 4.3%.

• Private job openings increased 56k to 6.46 million while government job openings dropped -37k to 770k.

• The government job openings rate dropped -0.1 ppt to 3.2% and is down -0.9 ppts from a year ago to the lowest since February 2021.
• Total hires fell -114k to 5.13 million (rate down -0.1 ppt to 3.2%), and total separations fell -110k to 5.11 million (rate down -0.1 ppt to 3.2%).
• Total quits dropped -75k to 3.09 million, and the quits rate fell -0.1 ppt to 1.9%.
• Total layoffs and discharges were down -62k to 1.73 million, and the layoffs and discharges rates was unchanged at 1.1%.