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The
Labor Department reported Thursday that vacancies fell to 6.5
million in December — from 6.9 million in November and the
fewest since September 2020. Layoffs rose slightly. The number
of people quitting their jobs — which shows confidence in their
prospects — was basically unchanged at 3.2 million.
December openings came in lower than economists had forecast.
The economy is in a puzzling place. Growth is strong: Gross
domestic product — the nation’s output of goods and services —
advanced from July through September at the fastest pace in two
years. But the job market is lackluster: Employers have added
just 28,000 jobs a month since March. In the 2021-2023 hiring
boom that followed COVID-19 lockdowns, by contrast, they were
creating 400,000 jobs a month.
When the Labor Department releases hiring and unemployment
numbers for January next Wednesday, they are expected to show
the companies, government agencies and nonprofits added about
70,000 jobs last month — modest but up from 50,000 in December.
On Wednesday, payroll processor ADP reported that private
employers added just 22,000 jobs last month, far fewer than
forecasters had expected. And the outplacement firm Challenger,
Gray & Christmas said Thursday that companies slashed more than
108,000 jobs last month, the most since October and the worst
January for job cuts since 2009.
“The hiring recession isn’t going to end anytime soon,'' Heather
Long, chief economist at Navy Federal Credit Union, wrote in a
commentary. "Job openings in December just fell to their lowest
level since September 2020. It’s yet another sign of how little
hiring – or interest in hiring – is happening in this economy.”
Economists are trying to figure out if hiring will accelerate to
catch up to strong growth or if growth will slow to reflect a
weak labor market or if advances in artificial intelligence and
automation mean that the economy can roar ahead without creating
many jobs.
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