US job openings are now at recession levels:
US job openings dropped -386,000 in December, to 6.5 million, the lowest since September 2020.
Over the last 2 months, job openings have declined -907,000, the biggest 2-month drop since March 2023.
The number of available vacancies has plummeted -5.6 million since the March 2022 peak.
This is now below levels seen before the pandemic in 2018 and 2019, at ~7.0 million.
As a result, the ratio of available vacancies to unemployed workers is down to 0.87, the lowest since February 2021, and significantly below the pre-pandemic high of 1.24.
This is also below the levels recorded during the 2001 recession.
US job market weakness is accelerating.
