Things could be better, but they could also be worse. Even before the world seemingly turned upside down in March following the US-Israeli war with Iran, the labor market was already “stuck in neutral,” as Laura Ullrich, director of economic research in North America at Indeed’s Hiring Lab described it. Job demand continued to fall in February, while attrition largely remained the same, according to the newest Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, published on Tuesday.

Diving into the data. Job openings fell to 6.9 million in February, from 7.2 million in January. Similarly, total hires fell by around half a million in that same period, to 4.8 million in February. The total hires rate for February decreased to 3.1%, which hasn’t been that low since April 2020. Total quits declined slightly to 3.1 million in February, from around 3.1 million in January, while layoffs and discharges were unchanged at 1.7 million.

Overall, experts say the decline in job demand combined with decreased attrition shows that employers are hitting pause on expanding their businesses, and as a result, scaling back on hiring. Much of that is driven by uncertainty.

Zoom out. Employers are in a very different labor market than four years ago, at the height of the Great Resignation, when top talent was difficult to recruit. A recent SHRM analysis of job postings recorded by labor market analytics firm Lightcast found that job demand fell 30% on average between 2022 and 2025.

For more on what HR needs to know about the JOLTS data, keep reading here.—PM

As more companies inch closer to a five-day, in-office workweek, some white-collar workers may feel like they’re back in the pre-pandemic workplace…

While we’re (thankfully) not there (yet), last month was the busiest February for office attendance since February 2019, according to a recent report from location analytics platform Placer.ai. Office visits in February were 31.9% below 2019 levels, an improvement from February 2025, when they were down 35.7%. The biggest February return-to-office push seemingly happened between 2022 and 2023 when attendance went from -65% to -44.6%.

“We continue to see gradual improvement in terms of return to office. This is obviously the best February that we’ve seen post-pandemic,” R.J. Hottovy, Placer.ai’s head of analytical research, told HR Brew. “That’s what we’re looking at for 2026. It’s this continued, gradual improvement as more people are in the office, and you see new industries like AI start to drive people back to the office.”

For more on what’s driving recent office-attendance trends, keep reading here.—MC

Carolynn Johnson spent more than 20 years at inclusion strategy company Fair360 (formerly Diversity Inc.), climbing the ranks and overseeing editorial strategy and DEI research before eventually taking over as CEO in 2019. She took on the role just months before Covid-19 shut down the world, but still managed to grow revenue by 49% during her tenure.

After both of Johnson’s parents passed away in 2023, she said she needed to step away from DEI work for a while. Now, she’s ready to return to the work she’s spent decades moving forward, this time at SHRM, where, in early March, she was tapped to lead its CEO Action for Inclusion and Diversity (I&D), helping leaders build inclusive workplaces through research and insights.

Johnson recently sat down with HR Brew to discuss her new role at SHRM, and how I&D plays a role in modern workplaces.

For more from our conversation with Johnson, keep here.—KP

Burnout and fatigue are on the rise as workers feel stalled in their careers amid a slower job market. Here's why feeling “stuck” is dragging down morale, what HR teams can do to offer growth without promotions, and how transparency and skill-building can help employees push through the pause.