‘Low-Hire, Low-Fire’ US Job Market Leaves Millions Out of Work

The “low-hire, low-fire” US labor market is leaving millions on the outside looking in.

It’s not just recent college graduates who are struggling to find entry-level positions. Out-of-work mid-career employees are taking part-time jobs, and hiring has stalled in industries from professional services to manufacturing. More than a quarter of the jobless have been out of work more than a half-year — the highest share since the mid-2010s excluding the pandemic-era years.

The significant cooldown in job creation was worrisome enough to prompt Federal Reserve officials to cut interest rates in September.

“You’ve got a low-firing, low-hiring environment,” Fed Chair Jerome Powell said at ...