General · 9 February 2026
US job openings plummet to 6.5 million hitting five-year low
US job openings plummeted by 386,000 to 6.54 million in December 2025, crashing to the lowest level since September 2020. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reveals professional services and retail trade slashed 452,000 vacancies combined. While hires inched up to 5.3 million, consumer confidence collapsed to 84.5 in January 2026, hitting a 12-year low. Concurrently, unemployment stands at 4.4 percent as economic optimism fades.
Reported by Bureau of Labor Statistics · How we write briefs