US job openings rose to 7.7 million in January, a sign the job market remains sturdy

U.S. job openings rose at the start of the year, another sign the job market was solid when President Donald Trump returned to the White House.

U.S. employers posted 7.7 million vacancies in January, the Labor Department reported Tuesday, up from 7.5 million. The outlook for the labor market is murky as Trump wages a trade war with foreign countries, purges federal workers and threatens to deport millions of immigrants.

Layoffs fell slightly in January, and the number of Americans quitting their jobs rose.


Openings are down from 8.5 million in January 2024 and a peak of 12.2 million in March 2022 when the economy was roaring back from COVID-19 lockdowns.

The American labor market has slowed from the frenzied hiring of 2021-2023. Employers added 168,000 jobs a month in 2024, decent but down from 216,000 in 2023, 380,000 in 2022 and a record 603,000 in 2021.

They created 125,000 new jobs in January and 151,000 in February. The unemployment rate is a low 4.1%.