The number of job vacancies in the United States has dropped to a five-year low, intensifying signals of a cooling labor market.

Signs of cooling in the US labor market are further evident. Data released by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics on Thursday showed that the number of job openings in the United States in December fell to the lowest level in over five years, significantly below market expectations. The data for the previous month was also revised downward, indicating a continued weakening in labor demand through the end of 2025. According to the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) report released by the BLS, the number of job openings in the US in December decreased to 6.542 million, the lowest since September 2020, and significantly lower than the market expectation of 7.25 million. At the same time, the data for November was revised down from 7.146 million to 6.928 million. The data shows that by the end of 2024, there were around 7.5 million job openings in the US, which means that by 2025, the number of job openings in the US economy had decreased by nearly 1 million, reflecting a significant cooling in labor demand in an uneven job market environment. Four years ago, during the strongest period of economic recovery following the pandemic, job openings in the US had exceeded 12 million. However, other indicators in the JOLTS report show that while the labor market is cooling, it has not yet slowed down. In December, the number of hires increased by 172,000 to reach 5.293 million, roughly in line with a year ago, but still at a relatively low level. The number of voluntary quits edged up slightly, which is usually seen as a signal of some resilience in the labor market, indicating that some workers are still able to find new job opportunities. The number of layoffs increased slightly at the end of last year, but overall remained moderate, with a layoff rate of about 1.1% in 2025, roughly the same as the previous year. It is worth noting that due to a brief government shutdown, the Department of Labor was closed on Monday and Tuesday, resulting in a delay in the release of the December JOLTS report earlier this week. Additionally, the January nonfarm payroll report, originally scheduled to be released on Friday, has also been postponed and will be released on February 11. The JOLTS report has always been one of the labor market indicators highly watched by the Federal Reserve, and it was especially valued during the tenure of former Treasury Secretary and Fed Chair Janet Yellen. However, in recent years, some economists have questioned the reliability of this survey, as the current response rate is only about half of what it was a few years ago. Nevertheless, as an important window into measuring changes in labor supply and demand, JOLTS data remains a key reference for the Fed when evaluating the job market and formulating monetary policy.