Job Openings COLLAPSE — Lowest Since 2020

Close-up of a typewriter with the word 'JOBLESS' typed on paper — JOB OPENINGS COLLAPSE

After years of “everything is fine” messaging, the federal numbers now show U.S. job openings collapsing to their lowest level since 2020—an unmistakable warning sign for working families.

Quick Take

Federal JOLTS data shows job openings fell to 6.5 million in December 2025, the lowest level since September 2020.
Openings dropped by 386,000 from November (revised to 6.9 million) and by 966,000 from a year earlier.
Hiring and separations changed little, signaling a labor market cooling without a sudden crash.
Professional/business services, retail trade, and finance saw some of the sharpest declines in openings, while construction posted a gain.

JOLTS report confirms a broad pullback in job opportunities

The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported 6.5 million job openings for December 2025, a steep drop that pushed openings to their lowest point since September 2020.

Openings fell 386,000 from November’s revised 6.9 million and were nearly 1 million lower than a year earlier. The report, released February 5, 2026, after a delay tied to a partial government shutdown, reinforces that the labor market has slowed meaningfully.

US job openings fall to 6.5M, fewest since 2020, as labor market remains sluggish https://t.co/Jra2cvc4ZN

— KMET1490AM (@KMETRadio) February 5, 2026

BLS data also showed that the labor market’s “flow” barely moved. Hires held around 5.3 million, while total separations were about 5.1 million, suggesting employers are not rapidly shedding workers, but also aren’t expanding payrolls aggressively.

Quits were roughly 3.2 million, and layoffs/dischargeswere about 1.7 million, both relatively stable. For households, that combination often translates into fewer fresh opportunities and less leverage to switch jobs.

Which industries are tightening first—and which still add openings

Sector breakdowns point to where the slowdown is biting. Professional and business services posted a large decline in openings, and retail trade and finance also showed notable pullbacks. Those areas are sensitive to higher borrowing costs, weaker consumer demand, and corporate belt-tightening.

Yet, construction added openings, a reminder that not every part of the economy moves in lockstep. Regionally, declines were recorded across the Northeast, South, Midwest, and West.

The downward trend matters because it follows a long slide from the post-COVID peak, when openings climbed above 11 million in 2022. As the Federal Reserve raised interest rates in 2022–2023 to fight inflation, openings cooled.

By 2024, the country still had far more openings than pre-pandemic norms, including 8.8 million in February 2024, alongside roughly 6.5 million unemployed people—an unusually tight labor market that supported rapid job hopping and wage pressure.

Slowing job gains collide with uncertainty from policy and rates

Momentum faded further in 2025. Research cited in the JOLTS report indicates that the U.S. added about 584,000 jobs in 2025, the weakest annual gain outside recessions since 2003.

Monthly job growth late in the year hovered around roughly 50,000, and unemployment was reported at 4.4%, a level that is not historically high but can feel harsher when openings are shrinking. With fewer postings, it simply takes longer to find the next job.

Several sources tie the softening environment to lingering high-rate effects and policy uncertainty. Analysts have pointed to uncertainty around tariffs and the outlook for labor supply as factors that can chill hiring plans, especially for businesses managing costs or demand forecasts.

The Fed cut rates three times late in 2025, then held steady as officials described the labor market as “stabilizing.” Stabilizing, though, is not the same as expanding—especially when openings trend down year over year.

What the downturn means for workers—and why the data gap matters

For job seekers, the practical consequence is a narrower funnel: fewer openings, similar hiring volumes, and steady quits can translate into more competition per posting. A cooling market can also reduce wage pressure, since employers feel less urgency to bid up pay to attract workers.

Separately, the delayed release caused by a partial shutdown is a caution flag in itself. When Washington can’t keep basic reporting on schedule, families and businesses are forced to make decisions with stale information.

Conservatives watching these numbers will focus on the basics: stable money, predictable rules, and pro-growth conditions that encourage investment and hiring.

The JOLTS report doesn’t show an employment freefall, but it does confirm the labor market is no longer running hot—and that the runway for working Americans is getting shorter. The next few reports will matter, especially if jobless claims continue to drift higher alongside shrinking openings.