Job Openings Unexpectedly Rose In January

Key Takeaways

• The number of job openings unexpectedly rose in January in a minor but positive sign for the trajectory of the job market after a slow 2025.
• The number of people being hired, fired, or quitting their jobs remained low, indicating the market stayed in its recent low-hire, low-fire pattern.

Job openings bounced back in January, a sign that the job market was beginning to stabilize after slowing dramatically last year.

U.S. employers had 6.9 million job openings in January, up from 6.6 million in December and the most since October, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said Friday. That was a significant bounce-back after three months of declines, and was higher than the 6.7 million openings economists surveyed by Dow Jones Newswires and _The Wall Street Journal _expected.

What This Means For The Economy

The January uptick in job openings was a sign of resilience in the labor market. Slow job growth has been one of the economy’s weak points in recent months, prompting concern among Federal Reserve officials who are considering lowering interest rates to boost the job market.

The report adds more detail to a picture of the labor market that appeared to be on the rebound in January, based on a payroll report released by the bureau last month. The figures had generated a short-lived sense of optimism about the job market, which faded after data from February showed the economy losing jobs and the unemployment rate rising.

Economists are watching jobs data for indications that the hiring market is pulling out of the slump it entered in 2025, which was the worst year for hiring outside a recession in decades. The uptick of job openings in January may not be enough on its own to dispel the impression that the market is in a low-hiring, low-firing limbo.

“The January JOLTS report contained some improvements, but they were too modest to change the narrative around a frozen labor market with little hiring and firing activity,” Bernard Yaros, lead U.S. economist at Oxford Economics, wrote in a commentary.

Related Education

Understanding JOLTS: U.S. Job Vacancies and Labor Turnover Insights

Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS): What It Is and How It Works

Only 1.6 million people were laid off in January, down from 1.7 million in December and close to historic lows. Fewer people voluntarily left their positions, too, with quits falling to 3.1 million from 3.2 million in December. Hires remained unchanged at 5.3 million, suggesting the job market stayed in its recent holding pattern, with workers finding few opportunities to change jobs for higher pay.

Economists say tariff-related uncertainty and new immigration restrictions have dragged down hiring over the last year.

Do you have a news tip for Investopedia reporters? Please email us at

[email protected]