U.S. job openings remained elevated in January, suggesting demand for workers is still strong.
Available positions edged lower to 8.86 million from a downwardly revised 8.89 million reading in the prior month, the Bureau of Labor Statistics Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey, known as JOLTS, showed Wednesday. Hiring and layoffs also ticked down.
Read more:
The JOLTS release included the agency's annual revision of monthly data back to January 2019. Openings were revised slightly lower for most of 2023, hovering around the current level for the past three months.
Federal Reserve officials have pointed to the ongoing strength of the labor market as a reason to hold off on cutting interest rates for the time being. Chair Jerome Powell is testifying before lawmakers Wednesday morning,
In January, job openings fell in the trade and transportation sector as well as retail trade and government. Vacancies rose in leisure and hospitality, professional and business services and health care.
Read more:
Though demand for workers is gradually cooling, the labor market has remained largely resilient, with more than one available job for every person looking for one in the country. The ratio of openings to unemployed people held around 1.4. The figure has eased substantially over the past year — at its peak in 2022, the ratio was 2 to 1.
Some 3.39 million people voluntarily left their job in January, the fewest in three years. A decline in the metric recently suggests that people are holding onto their current roles as they feel less confident in their ability to find new jobs and positions that may pay better.
A separate report out Wednesday from the ADP Research Institute showed that private employers increased hiring at a
Some economists have
