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Employment
US job openings sluggish; consumer sentiment falls
United States job openings reached almost 7 million for January 2026, marking a sluggish rise from the month prior. The 6.9 million job postings were higher than analysts' expectations but were only a small jump from December’s 6.6 million, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Hires remained unchanged at 5.3 million. The number of layoffs fell slightly, and the number of Americans quitting their jobs dipped slightly. Layoffs totalled 1.6 million in January, down from 1.7 million last month, and the number of people quitting their jobs totalled 3.1 million, down from December's 3.2 million. This follows employers cutting 92,000 jobs last month. They also added fewer than 10,000 jobs a month in 2025, marking the weakest hiring outside recession years since 2002. This appears to be impacted by President Donald Trump’s policies, the lingering effects of high interest rates, and the increasing use of artificial intelligence, which appear to be weighing on the labour market. Despite this, the American economy has remained resilient in the face of Trump’s import taxes and deportations. However, the Commerce Department reported that economic growth has slowed sharply in the past three months of 2025 to
Employment
US payrolls fall by 92k; unemployment rises to 4.4%
The United States labour market showed unexpected signs of weakness in February after the economy lost jobs and the unemployment rate edged higher, raising questions about the strength of employment conditions and complicating the outlook for monetary policy. Total nonfarm payroll employment declined by 92,000 during the month, while the unemployment rate increased to 4.4%, according to data released by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The result came as a surprise, with markets expecting payrolls to rise by 59,000 following a downwardly revised increase of 126,000 in January. The unemployment rate had been forecast to remain steady at 4.3%. The February payroll decline marked the sixth contraction since January 2025 and the second-largest drop over that period, a sign that the labour market may be losing momentum after several years of strong job creation. Part of the weakness reflected temporary factors amid a strike involving healthcare workers, as well as severe winter weather that disrupted employment in sectors including construction and leisure and hospitality. Analysts from ING noted: “February was filled with winter storms, impacting construction the other way and hurting leisure and hospitality as peop
Employment
Unemployment filings, company layoffs hit historic lows
United States filings for unemployment benefits and company layoffs reach historic lows. Filings for jobless aid for the week ending 28 February matched the previous week’s 213,000, according to the Department of Labor. Analysts from FaceSheet expected this week’s level to reach 215,000. This comes after the Labor Department reported that U.S. employers added a surprisingly strong 130,000 jobs in January, and the unemployment rate fell to 4.2% to 4.4%. However, government revisions cut 2024-2025 U.S. payrolls by hundreds of thousands, reducing the number of jobs created last year to just 181,000. That’s about one-third of the previously reported 584,000, and the weakest since the pandemic year of 2020. According to data released by Challenger, Grey & Christmas, U.S.-based layoffs dropped 56%, from 108,435 in January to 48,307 in February. This also marks a 72% from the 172,017 reported in the same month last year. In total, employers have announced 156,742 during the first months of the year, which is the lowest January-to-February total since 2022. However, Challenger, Gray & Christmas chief revenue officer Andy Challenger said that the change could be temporary. He said rising economic and geopoliti
Employment
US private sector hiring beats forecasts in Feb: ADP
United States private sector hiring rose more than forecast in February, though gains were driven almost entirely by education and health services. Companies added 63,000 jobs, per payroll software company ADP’s National Employment Report. This is higher than the Dow Jones consensus estimate of 48,000, and well above the downwardly-revised 11,000 seen in January. “We've seen an increase in hiring and pay gains remain solid, especially for job-stayers," said ADP chief economist Nela Richardson. "But with hiring concentrated in only a few sectors, our data shows no widespread pay benefit from changing jobs. In fact, the pay premium for switching employers hit a record low in February.” Education and health services sector jobs surged by 58,000 last month, by far the most of any industry. The Bureau of Labor Statistics’ January nonfarm payrolls report showed 82,000 jobs were added in healthcare, with another 42,000 in other related care work. Construction saw the second-highest increase at 19,000, followed by the information sector at 11,000. The professional and business services sector posted the largest job losses at 30,000. Overall, goods-producing industries added 16,000 jobs and service-providing industries ad
Employment
Unemployment rate remains steady in January: ABS
New numbers show that the unemployment rate in Australia has remained steady at 4.1%. The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) report for January found that the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was steady for the month of January, with very little change. Youth underemployment was up by one percentage point to 14.8%, underemployment and underutilisation both rose slightly by 0.2 percentage points to 5.9% and 10% respectively. Full-time hours worked were up by 0.7%, but part-time hours only increased 0.1% Sean Crick, ABS head of labour statistics, said: “Employed people grew by 18,000. Full-time employment rose by 50,000 people, partly offset by a fall of 33,000 people in part-time employment.” Markets had been expecting an addition of 20,000 jobs. ANZ analysts commented on the result: "Today’s labour market data has not led to a change in our RBA view. That said, the data is likely to reinforce the RBA’s thinking that the labour market remains a little tight. “In the February meeting minutes, the RBA Monetary Policy Board noted that the conditions in the labour market suggested that monetary policy was not restrictive overall.”

Employment
UK unemployment reaches highest rate in five years
Unemployment in the United Kingdom has reached its highest rate in around five years at the end of 2025. According to data from the Office for National Statistics, the unemployment rate rose to 5.2% in the three months to December from 5.1% in the three months to November. Young people are bearing the brunt, with unemployment among those aged 16 to 24 rising to 16.1%, the highest in 10 years.Credit: Office for National StatisticsThis comes as joblessness in the UK has steadily risen since 2022, and businesses have complained that tax rises by Rachel Reeves in her last two budgets have exacerbated this, with rises in national insurance contributions (NICs) and the minimum wage causing particular issues. Martin Beck, the chief economist at WPI Strategy, said: “Higher labour costs, reflecting last year’s increase in employer NICs and rises in the adult minimum wage, appear to be weighing most heavily on entry-level hiring. At the same time, firms are likely reassessing junior roles in the face of rapid advances in AI.” For those in work, wages have increased 4.2% in the three months to December. Despite this, the growth has slowed from 4.4% in the previous month. In the private sector, pay increased by 3.2%, the lowest
Employment
US payrolls beat forecasts; jobless rate at 4.3%
Total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 130,000 in January, comfortably exceeding expectations, while the unemployment rate edged lower to 4.3%, according to data released by the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). Markets had anticipated an increase of 70,000 jobs for the month. The stronger-than-expected headline figure marked the best month for payroll growth since December 2024, following a year in which job creation averaged just 15,000 per month. A broader measure of unemployment, which includes discouraged workers and those working part-time for economic reasons, slipped to 8%, down 0.4 percentage points from December. The BLS said in its Employment Situation Summary: “Job gains occurred in health care, social assistance, and construction, while federal government and financial activities lost jobs.” Health care once again led job creation, adding 82,000 positions during the month. Gains were concentrated in ambulatory health care services (+50,000), hospitals (+18,000), and nursing and residential care facilities (+13,000). Job growth in health care has averaged 33,000 per month in 2025. Employment in social assistance rose by 42,000, driven primarily by individual and family services (+38,00
Employment
US jobs data signals widening cracks in labour market
The United States labour market is showing increasing signs of strain, with new data pointing to weakening demand for workers, rising layoffs and a pickup in unemployment claims. Job openings unexpectedly fell for a third consecutive month in December, sliding by 386,000 to 6.542 million vacancies, according to the latest Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS). The reading marked the lowest level since September 2020 and came in well below expectations for 7.200 million openings. The shutdown-delayed JOLTS report showed that, after months of being described as “little changed”, labour demand dropped sharply at the end of the year. The job openings rate fell to 3.9%, from a recent peak of 4.6% in September. Hiring edged higher, but remained subdued by historical standards. The hiring rate ticked up to 3.3%, a level more consistent with the sluggish pace seen in the early 2010s, when the economy was still recovering from the global financial crisis. Further evidence of cooling conditions came from the latest Challenger, Gray & Christmas report, which showed that planned job cuts surged in January while hiring intentions slumped. U.S. employers announced 108,435 layoffs during the month, up 118% from the
Employment
ADP private payrolls rise just 22,000 in January
Private sector hiring in the United States slowed markedly in January, according to data released by Automatic Data Processing (ADP) on Wednesday, with payroll growth falling well short of expectations. Private payrolls increased by just 22,000 during the month, well below market expectations of 48,000. The report suggested that hiring momentum remained fragile, with gains narrowly concentrated in a handful of industries while several key sectors continued to contract. Healthcare stood out as the main source of job creation, adding 74,000 positions in what ADP described as an otherwise lacklustre month. The sector has been a consistent driver of employment growth, helping to offset broader softness across goods-producing and business-facing industries. By contrast, manufacturing extended its prolonged downturn, losing 8,000 jobs. The sector has now recorded job losses every month since March 2024, reflecting ongoing pressure from weaker demand and cost challenges. Professional and business services also saw significant declines, shedding 57,000 positions, while the other services category lost 13,000 roles. Dr. Nela Richardson, Chief Economist at ADP, said: "Job creation took a step back in 2025, with private emp