Job openings sour

Per The Guardian, the news on jobs soured in December. Here are a few paragraphs and the headline that tell the tough news:

“US job openings dropped to a five-year low in December 2025, report shows – Data from November 2025 was also revised lower amid a softening in labor market conditions at the end of the year.

US job openings dropped to the lowest level in more than five years in December and data for the prior month was revised lower amid a softening in labor market conditions at the end of 2025.

Job openings, a measure of labor demand, decreased by 386,000 to 6.542m by the last day of December, the lowest level since September 2020, the labor department’s Bureau of Labor Statistics said in its Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey, or Jolts report, on Thursday.

Data for November was revised down to show 6.928m job openings instead of the previously reported 7.146m. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast 7.20m unfilled jobs. Hiring increased by 172,000 positions to a still-low 5.293m in December.

The data came as other numbers showed a larger-than-expected increase in Americans filing new applications for unemployment benefits last week, but the underlying trend remained consistent with a stable labor market.”

In short, companies are hiring less and unemployment applications are up. Rather than draw conclusions, we need to see if this souring trend continues or if it is seasonal.

Estimated job numbers – September, 2025

With the shutdown, official job numbers data are not yet available and will hopefully be released next month. Here is an AI summary of estimated data:

“Detailed data on jobs created in September 2025 is not yet available, but reports from early October 2025 indicate the U.S. private sector shed 32,000 jobs in September, though a separate estimate placed consensus job creation at 50,000 for that month, with the unemployment rate holding steady at 4.3%. Official government reports on job creation are typically released on the first Friday of the month for the preceding month, meaning the full picture for September 2025 would not be available until early November 2025.

Key Details
Official Report Delayed: The government’s official monthly jobs report, which provides the most accurate data, was not released in early October 2025 due to a government shutdown and was expected in early November.
Conflicting Early Data: As of early October 2025, there were two different pieces of information regarding September’s job figures:
The ADP National Employment Report indicated a net loss of 32,000 jobs in the private sector for September.
Financial firm FactSet reported that consensus estimates were for 50,000 jobs to be added in September, a significant increase from the previous month, according to CNN, CNN.
Unemployment Rate: The unemployment rate was projected to remain steady at 4.3%, according to the consensus estimates mentioned by CNN.

What to Look For Next
BLS Report: The official Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) report, released on the first Friday of the month at 8:30 a.m. ET, will provide the definitive number of jobs created in September 2025 and is expected in early November.

Job numbers were not great in August (net 22,000) and low expectations were the same for September. Also, later this month, the economic growth numbers are supposed to be available. Let’s hope the shutdown will be ended. With these impacted employees and the lack of services to customers, the longer the shutdown, the worse the numbers.