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US Job Openings Decline to Lowest Level in More Than a Year

bloomberg.com

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Re: US Job Openings Decline to Lowest Level in More Than a Year

#31

Post by nonameiguess »

DetectDefect wrote: post #6
ZeroCool2u wrote: post #5

Bloomberg gift linK: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-01-07/us-job-op...

Not necessary, this information is free: https://finviz.com/calendar/economic/detail/UNITEDSTAJOBOFF?... > Job openings in the US fell by 303,000 to 7.146 million in November 2025, the lowest since December 2020 and well below market expectations of 7.60 million. The number of job openings decreased in accommodation and food services (-148,000); transportation, warehousing, and utilities (-108,000); and wholesale tra…

I'd say personally it's worthwhile for Americans to know where to get the canonical data directly: https://www.bls.gov/news.release/jolts.a.htm. Everything else is some sort of spin, interpretation, or at best selective reporting of the underlying primary data.

Re: US Job Openings Decline to Lowest Level in More Than a Year

#32

Post by ojbyrne »

mbgerring wrote: post #18

It makes sense that you wouldn't hire in such an uncertain environment. We have a President using emergency powers to affect sweeping, unpredictable, consequential changes to the economy that can dramatically alter unit economics overnight and completely tank a previously viable business. Within this calendar year, the President's ability to do this may be upended by pending court cases, an election, or both. Followi…

Actually its easy if you're a multinational. You invest outside the United States.

Re: US Job Openings Decline to Lowest Level in More Than a Year

#33

Post by Cornbilly »

potato3732842 wrote: post #25
hombre_fatal wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think that's mostly just HNers assuming AI like Claude Code is already penetrating the day to day work of the workforce. "If I use, then everyone is probably using it". Yet AI penetration is so low right now that it probably has zero role in the job market. And it keeps us distracted from talking about the real reasons behind job opening decline. That said, once AI ubiquity picks up within the next few years, we'll…

Bespoke AI has not gotten everywhere but generic AI absolutely has. The workforce is happily making themselves more efficient by using AI on their phones for what used to be multi step look it up in the literature or your supplier's catalog or consult the instructions or read the rules process when performing cookie cutter tasks they know but don't remember exact specifications for.

Sources for this?

Re: US Job Openings Decline to Lowest Level in More Than a Year

#34

Post by calvinmorrison »

mbgerring wrote: post #18

It makes sense that you wouldn't hire in such an uncertain environment. We have a President using emergency powers to affect sweeping, unpredictable, consequential changes to the economy that can dramatically alter unit economics overnight and completely tank a previously viable business. Within this calendar year, the President's ability to do this may be upended by pending court cases, an election, or both. Followi…

more likely, higher interest rates and and oversupply of hiring from previous quantitative easing have left number of roles open limited, not to mention with AI - many companies feel there is a deflation in the market, that is to say, if we wait till next year our programmer may accomplish twice as much, why hire a second person now?

Re: US Job Openings Decline to Lowest Level in More Than a Year

#35

Post by saubeidl »

mbgerring wrote: post #18

It makes sense that you wouldn't hire in such an uncertain environment. We have a President using emergency powers to affect sweeping, unpredictable, consequential changes to the economy that can dramatically alter unit economics overnight and completely tank a previously viable business. Within this calendar year, the President's ability to do this may be upended by pending court cases, an election, or both. Followi…

There's another factor: Due to the unpredictable and unreliable nature of the current US administration, the rest of the west is "America-proofing" itself.

Expect cash flows to dry up as Europe, Latam, Canada and Korea/Japan diversify away to more reliable suppliers. It's already happening.

Re: US Job Openings Decline to Lowest Level in More Than a Year

#36

Post by DetectDefect »

hmmokidk wrote: post #21
candiddevmike wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My hotter take: we're in an economic death spiral. There isn't enough juice that can be squeezed short of mass wealth redistribution to reinvigorate the economy, and what is out there is locked up in stocks that don't translate to revenue. Slashing rates will just skyrocket prices and over inflate our monetary supply, and further tax cuts will only whittle away what's left of government services and social safety net…

Massive wealth redistribution is just another word for Taxes. When we taxed the rich we were happy. It’s literally all we gotta do.

It really is this simple and this chart of Net Worth Held by the Top 0.1% demonstrates it well -

https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/WFRBLTP1246

Re: US Job Openings Decline to Lowest Level in More Than a Year

#37

Post by A4ET8a8uTh0_v2 »

hombre_fatal wrote: post #27
A4ET8a8uTh0_v2 wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Maybe. I am likely not a typical HNer, but my company actually has use of AI our 2026 goals. I am not guessing. I know majority of people in this company have those goals baked in. Now, can I suspect other like companies do the same? No. But even if they don't, it does not matter. Because the companies that don't allow AI, have people who use it anyway..

The writing is on the wall for AI. It is coming fast and it is transformative. That your company is still trying to ramp up AI adoption and processes for 2026 supports my point. But we've been blaming AI for a couple years now, yet I suspect it's still too early in the adoption curve to have a meaningful impact on hiring compared to more boring explanations.

I hear what you are saying. In a very practical sense, I have no real way to measure either of those factors and the company I work for is international so that does not allow for an easy extrapolation. I guess what it really means is: we will find out:P

Re: US Job Openings Decline to Lowest Level in More Than a Year

#39

Post by bluedino »

mbgerring wrote: post #18

It makes sense that you wouldn't hire in such an uncertain environment. We have a President using emergency powers to affect sweeping, unpredictable, consequential changes to the economy that can dramatically alter unit economics overnight and completely tank a previously viable business. Within this calendar year, the President's ability to do this may be upended by pending court cases, an election, or both. Followi…

Doesn't every president do that, just to do different industries?

Re: US Job Openings Decline to Lowest Level in More Than a Year

#40

Post by conartist6 »

hombre_fatal wrote: post #27
A4ET8a8uTh0_v2 wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Maybe. I am likely not a typical HNer, but my company actually has use of AI our 2026 goals. I am not guessing. I know majority of people in this company have those goals baked in. Now, can I suspect other like companies do the same? No. But even if they don't, it does not matter. Because the companies that don't allow AI, have people who use it anyway..

The writing is on the wall for AI. It is coming fast and it is transformative. That your company is still trying to ramp up AI adoption and processes for 2026 supports my point. But we've been blaming AI for a couple years now, yet I suspect it's still too early in the adoption curve to have a meaningful impact on hiring compared to more boring explanations.

Really? I see H1B as the tiniest drop in the bucket compared to AI, at least in software. It's not that AI is filling 1 human role with 1 AI, it's that everyone who has a job knows that they need to keep it because the market is insanely cutthroat right now. Everyone has an AI-polished resume, and employers no longer see the value in having talented employees. Even if they did have talented employees they don't trust them enough to know how to do the work. If your employer says "I need you to start using AI" they may as well be saying "I don't trust you to know what's worth is worth your time." I see even a lot of people who have jobs as acting in a way that's consistent with on the verge of being fired, which I think is most of the real "value" of AI so far.
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