Not As Much Help Wanted: What We Learned During the Week of February 2 – 6

The job market pulled back late last year. Here are five things we learned from U.S. economic data released during the week ending February 6. 

There were significantly fewer job openings in December. The Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that there were a seasonally adjusted 6.542 million unfilled jobs, down 386,000 for the month, off 12.9 percent from a year earlier, and its lowest level since 2020. The private sector aimed to fill 5.804 million jobs, a decrease of 423,000 from November and 12.6 percent less than a year earlier. Sectors with at least a million open jobs included health care/social assistance, professional/business services, and trade/transportation/utilities. Employers hired 5.293 million workers in December, an increase of 172,000 from November but a 1.5 percent decline compared to a year earlier. The trade/transportation/utilities and leisure/hospitality sectors each hired at least a million workers. More people left their jobs, rising by 106,000 to 5.251 million (+3.3 percent versus December 2024). 3.204 million workers quit their jobs (+11,000 compared to November 2025), and layoffs numbered 1.762 million (+61,000 versus November 2025). 

Manufacturing activity strengthened in January. The Manufacturing PMI swelled by 4.7 points to 52.6. This was the first time in a year that the Institute for Supply Management measure was above the expansion/contraction threshold of 50.0. Improving were indices for new orders (up 9.7 points to 57.1), production (+5.2 to 55.9), employment (+3.3 to 48.1), and inventories (+1.9 to 47.6). Nine manufacturing industries expanded during the month, led by printing, apparel, and fabricated metal products. The press release tempered the strong results by noting “that January is a reorder month after the holidays, and some buying appears to be to get ahead of expected price increases due to ongoing tariff issues.”

The service sector continued expanding in January. ISM’s Services PMI remained steady at 53.8, marking the index’s 19th consecutive month above 50.0. While the business activity/production metric increased by 2.2 points to 57.4, readings declined for indices of new orders (-3.4 to 53.1), employment (-1.4 to 50.3), and inventories (-9.1 to 45.1). Eleven service sector industries reported growth in January, led by health care/social assistance, utilities, and construction. The press release noted that “there was more respondent commentary in January on tariff impacts and uncertainty, potentially the result of annual contract renewals and geopolitical tensions.”

A small bump in consumer confidence in early February. The University of Michigan’s Index of Consumer Sentiment increased by 9/10ths of a point to 57.3 (1966Q1=100). The index was 11.4 percent below its year-ago level. The current conditions index rose by 2.9 points to 58.3 (-11.3 percent compared to February 2025), while the expectations measure slipped 4/10ths of a point to 56.6 (-11.6 percent versus February 2025). Consumers seem to be slightly less worried about inflation, with one-year inflation expectations dropping by half a percentage point to a still high +3.5 percent. The press release notes that consumers’ “[c]oncerns about the erosion of personal finances from high prices and elevated risk of job loss continue to be widespread.”

Bankruptcy filings rose in 2025. The Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts reports there were 574,314 bankruptcy filings during the year, an 11.0 percent rise from 2024. Three years earlier, filings totaled 387,721. In 2025, there were 24,747 business bankruptcy filings, a 7.1 percent increase from the previous year. Non-business filings jumped 11.2 percent to 549,577. By type, there were 356,724 chapter 7 filings, 9,201 chapter 11 filings, 315 chapter 12 filings, and 207,889 chapter 13 filings.

Other U.S. economic data released over the past week:

• Jobless Claims (Week ending January 31, 2026, First-Time Claims, seasonally adjusted): 231,000 (+22,000 vs. the previous week, +9,000 vs. the same week a year earlier). 4-week moving average: 212,250 (-2.5% vs. the same week a year earlier).
• Vehicle Sales (January 2026, Autos and Light Trucks, seasonally adjusted annualized rate): 14.936 million (-6.7% vs. December 2025; -3.5% vs. January 2025).
• Senior Loan Officers’ Opinion Survey (January 2026)

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