U.S. job openings declined in February, and hiring pace significantly slowed down.

MeNews · 2026-04-03T14:06:25+00:00

U.S. job openings in February fell to 6.88 million, indicating a slowdown in hiring and a more cautious economic demand. The labor market, affected by uncertainties such as wars, saw the hiring rate drop to its lowest since 2020, with a slight increase in layoffs. Although large companies are laying off workers to invest in artificial intelligence, overall layoffs remain moderate.

MeNews

2026-04-03 14:06:25

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ME News update, March 31 (UTC+8). In the U.S., the number of job openings fell for February, and hiring noticeably slowed, indicating that labor demand had already been cooling before the additional uncertainty triggered by the Iran war. Data released Tuesday by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics showed that job openings declined from 7.24 million, revised up from January, to 6.88 million. After job openings had risen temporarily at the start of the year, hiring and vacancies moving in tandem at a slower pace suggests that, following a year of near-zero growth, businesses are becoming more cautious about staffing. Looking ahead, a surge in oil prices driven by the war could raise operating costs for companies and pose resistance to further hiring. The decline in job openings was mainly driven by pullbacks in accommodation and food services, healthcare and social assistance, and manufacturing. The hiring rate fell to its lowest level since April 2020, while the layoff rate edged up slightly. Even though large companies, including Meta and Oracle, are rolling out large-scale layoffs to reallocate resources toward AI investments, the overall layoff level across the economy remains relatively moderate. (Jin10) (Source: ODAILY)

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