More workers stayed put at their jobs by the end of 2024 compared to 2023 as the job market slightly cooled, according to new data released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. 

There were 1.3 million fewer job openings at the end of December than at the same time in 2023. Hiring also decreased by 345,000 in 2024 compared to the same time the previous year, according to the report. 

December had 7.6 million job openings, down from 8.2 million in November, and 8.9 million at the same time the previous year. The AP says the openings fell short of the 7.9 million economists predicted. 

While quits remained the same month to month for December, they decreased by 242,000 year over year.

The Wall Street Journal reports that the U.S. market is “still solid” but workers are staying at their current jobs because there are fewer chances to advance to a better job. 

The newspaper reports Americans quit 39.6 million jobs in 2024, down 11% from 2023 and 22% from 2022. It says the trend has fallen below the pre-pandemic level. 

While fewer jobs are opening and more people are deciding to stay at their jobs, unemployment remains modest and is expected to remain at 4.1% in the next jobs report, the article says. 

Workers in office jobs are facing a more challenging job market than those in hands-on industries such as healthcare and hospitality, the article says. 

The Wall Street Journal said the future depends on whether companies can control costs without resulting in layoffs. 

“This labor market has shown that it can keep cooling for a long time without things breaking,” Guy Berger, an economist at the Burning Glass Institute, an employment think tank told the newspaper.  “Forever? Probably not, but maybe there’s more room for the labor market to cool in a mostly painless way.”

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