As labor turnover stagnates, HR leaders must rethink talent strategies

Want to leave 2025 in the past? Too bad, we’re looking at November labor turnover data today.

The labor market in November churned about as smoothly as bread dough that’s been kneaded for too long—that is to say, not much at all. Job openings and hires declined again, while total separations remained largely unchanged, per the latest JOLTS data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. For HR leaders, it’s yet another sign that they will have to get creative with their talent strategies in 2026 amid a changing labor market.

Diving into the data. Employers had 7.1 million job openings posted at the end of November. Postings that month were down from 7.4 million in October, and declined by 885,000 over the prior year. Openings declined across most sectors except retail trade, which grew 121,000 from October, and construction, up 90,000. Leisure and hospitality posted 160,000 fewer openings between October and November, the steepest monthly drop of any sector, followed by accommodation and food services, down 148,000.

Total hires also declined in November, down to 5.1 million that month compared to 5.4 million in October. Overall, hires were down 192,000 year over year in November. At the same time, layoffs and discharges fell to 1.7 million in November, down from 1.9 million the previous month. After September and October’s spike in job openings, November’s further turnover stagnation suggested that the “no hire, no fire” labor market isn’t going away soon.

“Coming into this, I was really looking for any sign of traction in hiring, even a modest improvement, and we’re just not seeing that,” Elizabeth Crofoot, principal economist at Lightcast, told HR Brew. Given the robust consumer spending and GDP growth in the US in late 2025, Crofoot questioned how long that could remain at odds with the cooling labor market. “If companies aren’t hiring and if opportunities are falling because those job openings aren’t there, how much longer can the labor market hold on to that tension?”

That said, total quits did increase slightly in November, up to 3.2 million versus 3 million in October. Voluntary departures rose by 208,000 in accommodation and food services, the highest of any sector, followed by construction, which spiked by 39,000. At the same time, professional and business services saw the steepest decline in quits, falling 75,000 month over month, followed by wholesale trade, down 23,000.

That spike “leave quits in a slightly better spot, though still comparable to 2015 levels, so still a sign that worker options remains subdued,” Daniel Zhao, Glassdoor’s chief economist, wrote on LinkedIn.

Zoom out. Despite the decline in hires and job openings, Crofoot noted that there are still 1.1 unemployed workers for every job opening posted—a sign of a balanced labor market. Looking ahead, though, Crofoot expects that topline job gains will likely show lower monthly increases than the sky high numbers than we’ve become accustomed to in recent years.

“We just have to sort of get used to these lower job numbers, slower job gains,” she said. “So anything in the 50,000 range is going to be pretty normal, and that’s going to be representative of a balanced labor market.”

However, with lower hiring being our “new normal” for now, Crofoot cautioned HR leaders to think about how that will affect their long-term talent strategy, particularly with entry-level workers who are experiencing pronounced difficulties landing opportunities. She recommended leaders focus on internal mobility, both from a reskilling and upskilling perspective, but also redefining career pathways and developing future leaders.

“It’s more of a playing the long game,” she said, “and understanding that if you’re not bringing people into the organization today, what does that mean down the line in terms of their mobility and their ability to learn the skills or learn the business, and then have that pipeline for mid level managers and then ultimately, leadership in the future?”