Job openings dropped to 7.6 million in December, down from 8.2 million in November, according to the latest report from The Bureau of Labor Statistics. This marks the lowest number of openings since September, and is 1.3 million less than a year ago.
After adding 212,000 openings in November, professional and business services declined by 225,000 openings in December. Job openings also decreased in healthcare and social assistance (-180,000) and finance and insurance (-136,000), while openings in arts, entertainment, and recreation increased by 65,000.
Updates on labor turnover included:
- The number of hires totaled 5.5 million in December. Total hires are down 325,000 from last year.
- In December, quits rose slightly to 3.2 million, but the number is 242,000 below what it was a year ago.
- Layoffs and discharges held steady at 1.8 million over the month.
- There was a notable decline in quits within transportation, warehousing, and utilities (-42,000). However, layoffs and discharges within the sector increased in December (+87,000).
