Job openings increased by 101,000 in December 2023, to 9 million, according to the monthly JOLTS report released today by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Openings had hit a peak of 12 million in March 2022 but were trending down since the start of 2023, a sign of cooling demand for labor.
The number of people quitting—a measure of worker confidence in the ability to leave one job for another—fell by over 130,000 to 3.39 million, showing that workers are not as confident as they had been in their ability to find new jobs. With fewer people job-hopping, wage growth is expected to moderate further and ultimately contribute to lower inflation. Layoffs in December rose by 85,000 to 1.6 million.
On Friday, the Department of Labor will report on how many jobs the U.S. economy added in January, the updated unemployment rate and wage gains for the month.
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