Job openings decreased in December, while hiring, voluntary quits, and layoffs remained stable, according to the Labor Department’s report on Tuesday.
The number of available positions fell to 7.6 million, the lowest since September, which was below the Dow Jones estimate of 8 million, as reported by the Bureau of Labor Statistics in its monthly Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey. This decline resulted in a ratio of open jobs to available workers of 1.1 to 1.
Although this report lags behind other jobs data by a month, the Federal Reserve closely monitors it for indications of a tight or slack labor market.
While there was a net gain of 256,000 nonfarm payrolls in the month, the level of job openings decreased by 556,000. The share of openings in the labor force dropped to 4.5%, which was 0.4 percentage points lower than November.
Specific sectors experienced declines in job openings, with professional and business services down by 225,000, private education and health services decreasing by 194,000, and financial activities seeing a decline of 166,000.
Following the news, major stock market averages increased, and Treasury yields showed mixed results, reflecting a relatively healthy labor market as 2024 concluded.
Layoffs totaled 1.77 million for the month, a decrease of 29,000, while hires slightly increased to 5.46 million and quits also saw a small rise to nearly 3.2 million. Total separations remained relatively unchanged at 5.27 million.
This report precedes the BLS release of the nonfarm payrolls count for January by a few days. It is anticipated to reveal an addition of 169,000 jobs, with the unemployment rate expected to remain at 4.1%.
In recent days, Federal Reserve officials have expressed caution regarding the future direction of monetary policy as they monitor the effects of last year’s series of interest rate cuts and potential fiscal policies such as tariffs on major U.S. trading partners. The central bank decided last week to maintain its benchmark borrowing rate at 4.25% to 4.50%, with further reductions not anticipated until at least June by the markets.
