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U.S. job openings fell to 7.1 million in August, marking the lowest level since the spring. Despite this decline in available positions, the labor market remains resilient, with hiring and layoff rates staying low and stable.
U.S. job openings fell to 7.08 million in August, marking a five-month low, while hiring and separations remained largely unchanged. MarketWatch attributes the weak hiring environment to war, high gas prices, rising interest rates, and AI, noting that consumer skepticism about labor market improvement persists. The BLS data shows total separations at 5.1 million, with quits at 3.1 million and layoffs at 1.6 million. Despite a recent surge in employment, the labor market remains resilient but faces structural headwinds.
Social Security beneficiaries are expected to receive a larger cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) in 2027 than the 2.8% increase received in 2026. Estimates from various organizations range from 3.4% to 3.6%, based on recent inflation data. The final COLA figure will be determined after the release of September consumer price index data on October 14.
The U.S. Producer Price Index for final demand rose 4.7% over the past 12 months ended in July, unchanged from June on a seasonally adjusted basis. Monthly changes were mixed: final demand services up 0.2%, construction up 2.2%, while final demand goods fell 0.7%—driven by energy price declines—leaving the year-over-year inflation pace at 4.7%.
U.S. job openings rose to about 7.6 million in May, a two-year high that beat economists’ expectations for a decline, signaling the labor market remains poised for expansion even as hiring cooled for the third straight month and uncertainty from the Iran war persists.
U.S. job openings rose to 7.62 million in April, the highest level since mid-2024, led by gains in professional and business services. Quits fell to pandemic-era lows, while hiring activity and layoffs cooled, signaling a stabilizing but cautious labor market amid ongoing economic uncertainty and potential external shocks.
U.S. payrolls rose 115,000 in April and the unemployment rate held at 4.3%, signaling a resilient labor market even as energy prices stay elevated amid the U.S.–Iran conflict. Healthcare led gains, with transportation/warehousing and retail adding jobs, IT fell, and 4.9 million workers were employed part-time for economic reasons; wages rose 3.6% year over year.
U.S. union membership rose to 14.7 million in 2025 and 16.5 million workers were covered by union contracts—the highest since 2009—despite the Trump administration’s push to roll back bargaining for about 1 million federal workers; density climbed to 11.2%, and public approval for unions remains high (67–71%), signaling renewed organizing over years.
The December 2025 JOLTS release from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics shows job openings easing to 6.5 million, while hires and total separations remain essentially unchanged at 5.3 million each. Quits are 3.2 million and layoffs/discharges 1.8 million, with the report covering the total nonfarm sector by industry and establishment size.
The January 2026 U.S. jobs report is postponed due to the federal government shutdown; the BLS says data collection is complete and the release will occur once funding resumes. The delay comes amid a funding stalemate over DHS/ICE, after 2025 saw only 584,000 jobs added versus 2 million in 2024.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics has postponed the January 2026 Employment Situation release due to the partial government shutdown, with the release rescheduled when funding resumes. The delay comes as a busy data week would have culminated in the nonfarm payrolls report and the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey. Markets had expected about 55,000 new jobs and a 4.4% unemployment rate. The shutdown also threatens other data releases, and a resolution by Tuesday is hoped for by Speaker Mike Johnson as Congress negotiates funding for the government and DHS.
A Business Insider Discourse piece argues that a steady erosion of government-held economic data—driven by budget constraints, survey slowdowns, and a lengthy shutdown—could leave the Fed, businesses, and households making decisions with less reliable signals. Private data sources can’t fully substitute for core statistics like unemployment and inflation, risking delayed or miscalibrated policy, fewer hiring plans, and higher recession risk as trust in data declines.
The article claims that the November inflation rate was artificially manipulated by the BLS, allegedly by excluding housing inflation to present a more favorable number, raising concerns about the reliability of government economic statistics and their impact on the economy.
US employment data shows a mixed picture with a loss of 105,000 jobs in October and a gain of 64,000 in November, amid concerns over data accuracy due to the federal government shutdown and political interference, while the unemployment rate reached a four-year high of 4.6%.
The article discusses a significant outlier in the Owner's Equivalent of Rent (OER) component of the Consumer Price Index (CPI), which heavily influenced inflation readings in September 2023. Due to an anomaly, OER's minimal increase of 0.13% significantly lowered the overall CPI, core CPI, and core services CPI figures, potentially underestimating true inflation levels. Without this outlier, inflation would have appeared much higher, especially in core services, which are heavily weighted by housing costs.