👀👀👉JOLTS Job Openings 7.7 Million: What's the State of the US Economy?
The October 2025 JOLTS report indicates a stable but cooling US labor market, with job openings steady at 7.7 million (4.6% rate), hires at 5.1 million (3.2% rate), and total separations at 5.1 million (3.2% rate). This balance—where openings exceed hires but show little movement—suggests employers retain demand for workers amid moderating hiring activity, consistent with a broader economic slowdown rather than contraction.
Quits remaining low at 2.9 million (1.8% rate, down 276,000 year-over-year) signal reduced worker confidence in finding better opportunities, a classic sign of labor market softening that often precedes slower wage growth and consumer spending. Layoffs and discharges holding at 1.9 million (1.2% rate) point to limited distress, though upticks in sectors like accommodation and food services hint at pockets of pressure from demand weakness. Sector declines in federal government and health care further reflect fiscal tightening and post-pandemic normalization.
Overall, these figures align with resilience in a high-interest-rate
environment: no sharp deterioration, but stagnation implies the economy faces headwinds from tariffs, policy uncertainty, and prior tightening, potentially tipping toward recession risks in 2026 as forecasts suggest GDP growth slowing to 1.4%. Compared to August's 7.2 million openings, the uptick to 7.7 million shows mild recovery, yet year-ago levels were higher (around 7.6-7.7 million), confirming a downtrend from peak tightness.