What to know about the job market this week — and other happenings in the world of work

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Catch up on other headlines from the last 7 days.

• The U.S. economy added 256,000 jobs in December, bringing the total tally for 2024 to 2.2 million jobs. Read more about this — and how the job market is shaping up in 2025 — below.
• Job openings hit a six-month high in November, the Labor Department found. At the same time, the number of Americans quitting their jobs fell to 1.9%, the lowest since the pandemic hit, signaling jitters about their ability to find other work. ??Cate Chapman
• The Los Angeles wildfires have destroyed more than 12,000 structures, razing some of the city’s priciest real estate," says The Wall Street Journal. The fires burned homes of movie stars along with those of teachers, plumbers and nurses. Many middle class workers had all their wealth tied to their homes in a city where prices are double the national level. The fires could cost between $135 billion and $150 billion in damage and economic losses, says AccuWeather, tripling its original estimates. ??Jessica Hartogs
• Americans are getting more work done on the job these days. The U.S. economy has seen productivity rise at least 2% year-over-year for the past five quarters, according to an analysis of Labor Department data. Another sign of a more productive economy? An increase in monthly applications for new businesses likely to have multiple employees on a payroll. Business leaders say technological advances, including AI automations, allow workers to do more in less time. ??Rachel Cromidas
• Long-term inflation fears spiked in early January to their highest level dating back to 2008, based on a preliminary gauge of consumer sentiment by the University of Michigan. The reason? Concerns about the incoming administration's tariff plans. According to the survey, Americans expect prices to increase 3.3% annually over the next five to 10 years. They also anticipate prices to rise 3.3% over the next year, up from December's expectation of 2.8%. ??Jake Perez
• Airlines are off to a strong start in 2025, thanks to healthy ticket demand, higher fares and profits, The New York Times reports. Delta’s record-breaking fourth-quarter revenue signals a solid year ahead, with other carriers expected to follow suit. While the outlook is optimistic, analysts warn that unforeseen events could still derail progress. ??Rob Sacks
• The average restaurant tip is shrinking. According to mobile payment platform Toast, the average tip percentage at sit-down restaurants dropped to 19.3% last fall, down from a high of 19.9% in early 2021. Some restaurant workers, who have long relied on gratuities, worry that requests for tips on transactions that were traditionally gratuity-free are causing consumer fatigue.??Andrew Barker

Take a closer look at a recent trending topic — and engage with meaningful conversations happening on LinkedIn.

The U.S. economy added 256,000 jobs in December, according to new Labor Department data. That’s the most in nine months, reinforcing the view that the Federal Reserve won’t lower interest rates anytime soon.

“This is a good jobs report,” Byron Gangnes, an economics professor, explained. Overall, jobs increased by 2.2 million in 2024, fewer than in 2023, but still above the pre-pandemic figure of 2 million in 2019. “This confirms the labor market remains fundamentally healthy,” Gangnes continued,” even as other economic signals indicate it is “becoming more difficult to land a job than it was a year ago.”

Americans are feeling more pessimistic about their job security than they have in years, according to LinkedIn’s latest Workforce Confidence survey. Workers' confidence in their ability to find or hold a job dropped by 8 points year-over-year in December (from +50 to +42, on a scale from -100 to +100). That’s the lowest level it's reached since the survey began in the spring of 2020 in the early days of the global pandemic, when workers' average job confidence score was +43.

So where are there pockets of potential opportunity? Labor Department data shows that recent job growth has been concentrated in a handful of industries. The healthcare and social assistance, government and leisure and hospitality sectors account for over 70% of the jobs created since January 2023.

This aligns with separate LinkedIn data. “With job growth heavily skewed to just three sectors, it comes as no surprise that we see some key roles in these industries on LinkedIn’s 2025 Jobs on the Rise list,” Kory Kantenga, LinkedIn’s head of economics, shared. The list, released last week, is an annual ranking of the 25 fastest-growing job titles over the past three years.?

“Healthcare roles such as physical therapist and nurse practitioner alongside leisure and hospitality roles such as travel advisor and event coordinator all made the list,” Kantenga continued. These roles also represent a resurgence in jobs with core competencies that AI can’t replace, even as AI-related roles dominate the list.?

In fact, while AI gains are expected to reduce certain jobs, some companies now believe they’ll need more human workers in the coming year. Nearly two-thirds of U.S. employers plan to hire for permanent positions in the next six months, meaning the hiring outlook for 2025 is improving.

For those continuing or kicking off a job search this month, career coach Kimberly Morrison recommends being as proactive as possible. “Many people feel stuck because they rely on old methods — like just applying and waiting — instead of exploring new strategies to confirm their ability to find or hold a job,” she commented.?

Some ways Morrison suggested job seekers “creatively take charge” include: networking intentionally online and in your local community, researching dream companies’ challenges to tailor your application approach to their needs and focusing on independently upskilling.

You can check out open roles for all 25 Jobs on the Rise here.

Get ready for the week by seeing what’s coming up.

Tuesday, January 14:

• The Bureau of Labor Statistics will release the Producer Price Index for December. The gauge measures the change over time in prices charged by domestic producers for their output.?

Wednesday, January 15:

• The Bureau of Labor Statistics will release the monthly Consumer Price Index for December, which measures inflation through the price of goods and services.

Thursday, January 16:

• The U.S. Commerce Department will release its retail sales report for December, which tracks demand for finished goods, such as food, clothing and furniture, in stores and online.
• The U.S. Department of Labor will release initial jobless claims for the previous week. The report, a proxy for layoffs, tracks the number of people filing for unemployment benefits.