Park Mo-yang, a Korean who graduated from a university in Southern California this year with dreams of employment and independence, has applied to over 10 companies and attended three interviews but has yet to secure a job. Park said, “The number of quality job openings has significantly decreased, making the job search tough, and it seems companies are generally hiring less.” She added, “Many of my friends and classmates who graduated with me are also struggling to find employment.”

Another recent Korean graduate, Kim Mo-gun, sighed, “I want to work at a high-tech company, but it’s incredibly difficult. I think I’ll have to lower my expected salary and benefits substantially.” The growing economic uncertainty, fueled by the Trump administration’s tariff policies, has led companies to adopt a cautious approach to hiring. With inflation driven by tariffs remaining a serious issue, consumers are cutting back on spending, leaving companies’ revenue forecasts uncertain. As companies invest in automation and actively utilize artificial intelligence (AI) technology, the scale of new hiring has also shrunk. For these reasons, employment experts predict that this year’s college graduates will face significantly greater challenges in finding jobs compared to previous years.

The number of job openings nationwide, which reflects labor market demand, has been declining for two consecutive months, hitting the lowest level in 10 months. The U.S. Department of Labor released its Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) on September 3, reporting that the number of job openings in July stood at 7,181,000. This marks the lowest level since September of last year (7,103,000) and falls short of the expert consensus forecast of 7.4 million compiled by Dow Jones. Since January 2021, which included the COVID-19 pandemic period, the monthly national job openings figure has dropped below 7.2 million only twice—September 2024 and the previous July.

Job openings in the healthcare and social assistance sector decreased by 181,000, while those in the arts, entertainment, and recreation sector fell by 62,000. The national number of job openings has declined from 7,712,000 in May to 7,357,000 in June, continuing a downward trend for two months. Compared to the 12–13 million openings before the pandemic, this represents nearly half. According to the Department of Labor, the national hiring rate (the proportion of new hires relative to total employment) in June was 3.3%, lower than the 3.9% recorded in February 2020 just before the pandemic.

It is also significantly below the 4.6% seen in November 2021, when the labor market was rapidly recovering. Layoffs remain low as well. The layoff rate in June was 1% of total employment, nearing the historic low of 0.9% recorded during the robust job market of 2021. The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) recently reported that the labor market’s vulnerability is becoming evident as a trend of “not firing but also not hiring” spreads among employers. Indeed, according to the Department of Labor, nonfarm payroll employment increased by only 73,000 in July compared to the previous month—a sharp decline from the prior range of 140,000–150,000.

This is nearly half of June’s 147,000 and the year’s average of 130,000. Economists note that young people, in particular, are struggling to find jobs, and the wage growth rate for low-income workers with high job turnover has noticeably slowed. Many are dedicating time to job searches and have been unemployed for at least six months, according to analyses. As analyses suggest a cooling national labor market, Wall Street anticipates a greater than 90% chance that the Federal Reserve (Fed) will cut interest rates this month. Wall Street is also closely watching the August nonfarm payroll report, set to be released on September 5, to see how recent employment trends have evolved.