'You cannot have a healthy economy without a healthy job market,' warns Bloomberg Business co-host Stacey Vanek Smith, describing the current US labour landscape as eerily 'still' and stuck with 'a light fever'. Her assessment, shared on Bloomberg's Everybody's Business podcast, comes as new data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics reveals the national hiring rate has fallen to just 3.2%, matching its lowest level in more than a decade, excluding the pandemic-era collapse.
@bloombergbusiness Economic data has been sending us mixed messages. Companies aren't hiring and job cuts are rising too, though the unemployment rate is still near historic lows. Overall sentiment on the US economy has just not been good. On this episode of the Everybody's Business podcast, Bloomberg Businessweek's Brad Stone joins @Stacey Vanek Smith and @Max Chafkin to unpack why 2025 has been such an odd year for the economy and for the job market and whether the trend will continue in 2026. #US #economy #markets #jobs #employment
♬ original sound - Bloomberg Business
The November JOLTS report, released on 7 January 2026, showed job openings had dropped to 7.1 million, according to the Bureau of Labour Statistics. Monthly payroll growth averaged just 50,000 jobs throughout 2025, according to a JPMorgan analysis.
The Human Cost of Corporate Restructuring
For workers like Timmy, a content creator known as TimmyTechTV, the statistics tell a deeply personal story. In May 2025, he documented his layoff from Microsoft after 22 years with the company. His reaction captured the shock felt by thousands facing similar circumstances.
@timmytechtv Well, I wasn’t expecting that after 22 years… #Microsoft #Layoffs #MicrosoftLayoffs
♬ original sound - directedbynikita
TimmyTechTV's video captures the moment he learns of his Microsoft redundancy. His speechless reaction, removing his glasses and burying his face in his hands, resonated widely, reflecting the human toll of mass corporate restructuring. Microsoft eliminated more than 15,000 positions in 2025 across multiple rounds of cuts, according to CNBC. The broader tech sector shed approximately 245,000 jobs throughout the year, averaging 674 redundancies daily, based on data from TrueUp's layoffs tracker.
Why Companies Are Freezing Hiring
Brad Stone, a Bloomberg News journalist, offered a pointed observation on the Everybody's Business podcast: 'What a terrible time to start hiring en masse if that is the expectation that you have set,' referring to corporate promises that artificial intelligence would deliver efficiencies.
The Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis reported that more than six million Americans resumed job hunting in the third quarter of 2025, a 9% increase from the previous quarter. Yet opportunities remain scarce.
'When people feel like they can't get jobs or change jobs, it makes them really nervous,' Smith explained. 'They feel like they can't ask for a raise, they feel like they can't find a new job. So they're just kind of trying to keep under the radar.'
Max Chafkin, co-host of Everybody's Business, compared this behaviour to consumer paralysis: 'It's kind of the equivalent of, like, you open Bloomberg and you see, oh god, the tariffs are this, and I'm confused. And it's like, I'm just gonna hold off and not buy anything for a while until this all gets sorted out. That's what companies are doing, basically.'
Economists have dubbed this the 'low-hire, low-fire' market. According to the Indeed Hiring Lab, 'the most probable outcome is an extension of today's low-hire, low-fire environment in which both employers and job seekers face a slower, more selective market.'
How to Survive a Hiring Freeze
Career experts recommend several strategies for those facing redundancy or struggling to secure new employment:
- Retool and reskill immediately. Avoid the obvious path by checking where skills fall short. Where training lags, consider courses on AI, cloud systems, or data interpretation. Platforms such as Coursera provide accessible options without draining funds. LinkedIn Learning also offers practical, achievable courses.
- Expand your network proactively. Many roles are filled through referrals before being advertised publicly. Reach out to former colleagues and engage meaningfully on professional platforms.
- Consider adjacent industries. Healthcare added 46,000 jobs in November alone, according to BLS data. Skills from declining sectors often transfer well to growing ones.
- Maintain a financial cushion. Credit card delinquencies are at their highest point in 13 years, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. Cut discretionary spending early where possible.
- Treat job hunting as a full-time role. Allocate hours each day to sending applications or learning new skills. These days, securing a position often takes considerably longer than before the pandemic.
The outlook remains uncertain as 2026 unfolds, with JPMorgan forecasting unemployment to peak at 4.5% in the early months before possibly improving in the latter half of the year.
