President Donald Trump says the economy is surging. But for people hunting for work, the picture looks far less rosy.
The Labor Department said Thursday that job openings in December unexpectedly fell to their lowest level since mid-2020, when the Covid-19 pandemic was still battering the economy. The drop suggests employers are pulling back on hiring even as the White House portrays the expansion as the start of a new “Golden Age.”
Other recent indicators also point to a softer jobs market.
Challenger, Gray & Christmas reported that companies announced plans to cut more than 108,000 positions last month—more than double the layoffs recorded in January 2025. ADP reported that private-sector employers added just 22,000 jobs in January, another sign hiring may be losing steam. Weekly jobless claims also jumped.
“On the margin, firms are able to do more with less,” RSM US Chief Economist Joe Brusuelas said. “That’s fine when you’re talking to an economist or capital markets professional; that’s hell if you’re talking to a politician or the public.”
That dynamic could become a political headache for Trump, whose economic ratings have already been pressured by concerns about affordability, inflation, and job security—anxiety that has weighed on Republicans in recent elections and pushed the president to emphasize cost-of-living issues.
Meanwhile, sentiment has remained sour even as traditional measures of output and productivity appear strong. Companies may be generating more with fewer workers, but consumer confidence and polling have been consistently downbeat.
A new poll from The Economist/YouGov found Trump 14 points underwater on his handling of jobs and the economy. A survey from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York also found that consumer expectations have worsened when it comes to wage growth and the ability to find a new job.
The White House pushed back, arguing the administration is reversing what it calls an “economic disaster” inherited from President Joe Biden.
“The Trump administration is focused on implementing the same Trump agenda that unleashed historic job, wage, and economic growth during President Trump’s first term,” spokesperson Kush Desai said in a statement. “Honest reporting would highlight the work this Administration is doing to keep real wages growing, trillions in investments pouring in, and GDP growth accelerating instead of fixating on unofficial data releases that have not historically tracked well with real BLS jobs data.”
Despite the weaker labor signals, the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta estimates the economy is expanding at a solid 4.2% pace.
Even so, the Labor Department’s openings report showed notable declines in professional and business services, retail trade, and finance and insurance. And as more companies roll out artificial intelligence—often described as a key driver of recent growth—some economists warn that future gains may not translate into broader job creation.
The report also found that the “quits rate,” a measure of how willing workers are to leave their jobs, remains below pre-pandemic levels—often interpreted as a sign workers feel less confident they can quickly land something better.
Taken together, the trend could mean further cooling ahead. The Labor Department is set to release its monthly jobs report next week, after a brief government shutdown delayed the data.
“The low hiring environment and subdued rate of workers voluntarily leaving their jobs risks pushing layoffs higher,” Wells Fargo economists Sarah House, Michael Pugliese, and Nicole Cervi wrote. They added that while layoffs “have not risen to a degree that [signals] a mass loss in employment,” the recent pickup is a reminder that companies will cut headcount when other options run out.
