Fewer workers quit their jobs to start 2026, a sign of waning confidence about the labor market.
The number of job openings in January exceeded expectations, signaling potential renewed demand for labor amid sluggish employment conditions.
Job vacancies climbed to 6.94 million, from an upwardly revised 6.55 million in December, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said in its delayed report on March 13.
This is a sizable rebound from the more than five-year low recorded at the end of last year.
January’s gains also topped market estimates, which pointed to a reading of 6.7 million.
The jump in vacancies was broad-based, led by financial activities (169,000), trade, transportation, and utilities (155,000), and private education and health services (123,000).
Job openings in the manufacturing sector also increased by 69,000.
This could be the start of thawing out the labor market, says Jeff Korzenik, chief economist at Fifth Third Bank.
“The end of the paralysis caused by tariff policy—what we have termed, ‘tariff fatigue’—this has been evident in a pickup in deal flow and in capex,” Korzenik said in a note to The Epoch Times.
This could be the start of thawing out the labor market, says Jeff Korzenik, chief economist at Fifth Third Bank.
“The end of the paralysis caused by tariff policy—what we have termed, ‘tariff fatigue’—this has been evident in a pickup in deal flow and in capex,” Korzenik said in a note to The Epoch Times.
Two industries posted notable decreases: transportation, warehousing, and utilities (negative 67,000) and real estate, rental, and leasing (negative 20,000).
Labor demand has softened since job openings peaked at 12.3 million in March 2022, when the U.S. economy reopened following the COVID-19 pandemic.
But while employers might be hesitant about adding to their headcount, companies are also not laying off workers in vast numbers, supporting a stable labor market.
The number of layoffs and discharges was flat at 1.6 million, further adding evidence of the longstanding and oft-described “low fire, low hire” climate.
Data gathered by the global outplacement firm Challenger, Gray, and Christmas suggests that planned layoffs slowed to 48,307 in February, following the previous month’s surge of 108,435.
Meanwhile, total separations—quits, layoffs, discharges, retirements, and deaths—also held steady at 3.1 million.
A proxy for worker confidence in the labor market fell slightly.
The number of quits declined to 3.137 million, from an upwardly adjusted 3.225 million.
The quits rate—share of workers who voluntarily leave their job as a percentage of total employment—was unchanged at 2 percent.
