December 2025 Jobs Recap: U.S. Labor Demand Continued to Contract

Key Takeaways:

• Labor Market Cooling: The U.S. labor market is showing signs of sharp contraction, with job listings further dropping 3.7% month-over-month and 10.6% year-over-year in December 2025, reflecting slower hiring and ongoing business uncertainty. 

• Broad-Based Industry Declines: Contraction occurred across nearly all industries, with Health Care and Social Assistance seeing the steepest drop (−15.5k openings) likely due to financial and operational pressures. 

• Slowing Hiring Velocity: Hiring Velocity decelerated, as average closed duration rose to 48.5 days, while Office and Admin Support roles experienced the largest occupational decline (-13.2k). 

U.S. Job Listings by Month | December 2024 - December 2025

LinkUp 10,000

The LinkUp 10,000 is an analytic published daily and monthly that captures the total U.S. job openings from the 10,000 global employers in LinkUp’s jobs dataset with the most U.S. openings.

December 2025 saw the LinkUp 10,000 register 3,599,470 job listings, down by 3.6% from November. The job listings were below December 2024 levels with a 10.3% YoY drop. The decline reflected a marked slowdown in the U.S. labor demand, influenced by tariffs, and tighter financial conditions. 

Monthly LinkUp 10,000 | December 2024 - December 2025

Jobs Data By Industry (NAICS)

Industries that experienced the largest drops in job openings last month:  

• Health Care and Social Assistance (−15.5k) 

• Public Administration (−5.7k) 

• Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation (-4.1k) 

• Information (-3.5K) 

December 2025 witnessed broad-based contraction across nearly all industries. The sharpest declines occurred in Health Care and Social Assistance, Public Administration, and Information reflecting heightened caution among U.S. employers. 

Job Listings by Industry (NAICS) | December 2025

This chart displays the change in job listings across various industries, categorized by NAICS codes.

Industry Spotlight: Health Care and Social Assistance

The Health Care and Social Assistance sector experienced a decline of 15.5K jobs in December 2025. Layoffs continued with Healthcare organizations adjusting staffing levels in response to shifting market conditions and regulations. Hospitals and health systems announced workforce reductions in 2025 alone amid mounting financial and operational pressures, underscoring ongoing strain across the healthcare delivery ecosystem. 

Jobs Data By Occupation (O*NET)

Occupations in December, with largest drops: 

• Office and Admin Support (-13.2k) 

• Installation, Maintenance, and Repair (-11.3k) 

• Transportation and Material Moving (-10.1k) 

• Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media (-8.5k) 

• Food Preparation and Serving (-8.4k) 

Note: Beginning this month, we have updated the job listings by occupation numbers and charts with the new O*NET mapping methodology. For this reason, some occupation trends may not be strictly comparable to earlier months and minor inconsistencies can appear.

Job Listings by Occupation (O*NET) | December 2025

This chart displays the change in job listings across various occupations, categorized by O*NET codes.

Closed Duration

Closed duration, or the average number of days job listings remain live on company websites before removal, tracks hiring velocity across the U.S. economy. As the average duration increases, hiring velocity slows.

In December, the closed duration increased to 48.5 days, from 45.3 days in November. 

Time to Fill By Month | December 2025 - December 2025

Jobs Data By State

During the month of December, most states in the U.S. saw a decrease in job listings from November, with only Hawaii seeing a moderate increase driven by likely seasonal trends. The states that saw the largest decreases: 

• Arkansas (-10.2%) 

• Vermont (-7.9%) 

• Oklahoma (-7.4%) 

• West Virginia (-7.4%) 

• New Hampshire (-6.8%) 

Percent Change in Active Job Listings by State (Month-Over-Month) | December 2025

DATA DISCLAIMERS

LinkUp’s monthly data recaps incorporate revisions to previously-reported monthly data with the purpose of reporting the most accurate and up-to-date data points. For more information on what circumstances may impact data revisions, visit our Data Support Center.