In December, respondent confidence in getting hired fell to the lowest level it’s been since 2021.

That’s 3% fewer than a year ago. If it keeps dropping, it could be a sign the labor market is getting warmer.

People are “getting really personal” and leveraging their social media networks, says Danielle Abril of The Washington Post.

The ranks of the long-term unemployed have swelled to 1.7 million. The psychological effects add to the economic pain.

While layoffs have been low over the last few months, the uptick signals that the labor market may be starting to lose momentum.

That statistic has risen to almost a three-year high. But if the labor market continues to add jobs at current rates, losers may become winners.

The services sector has expanded in 47 of the last 50 months, according to the Institute for Supply Management. Several business owners in the sector report renewed strength this year.

Jobseekers find it easier to write resumes to multiple employers with AI, but those hiring have more applications to sort through.

The decline helped bring the annual rate of inflation at the wholesale level down to 2.2%.

Competition for medical workers can be fierce, requiring incentives like housing assistance or student loan repayments to recruit new hires.