The strength of the U.S. labor market has been one of the most notable aspects of the country's economic performance. In December, the U.S. economy added 223,000 jobs, double the number of jobs needed to keep pace with population growth.

But there are signs that the market is cooling off. The most significant of these is the creation of temporary jobs, which has been falling steadily in recent months. According to The Wall Street Journal, in the last five months of 2022, temporary jobs fell by 110,800, with 35,000 of those cuts occurring in December alone. According to the newspaper, the decline in temporary jobs has been observed several months before broader job losses began to emerge in past recessions.

Another indicator of the cooling labor market is the aggregate number of hours worked, which reached its peak in 2021but has since shown a downward trend. By December 2022, it had returned to levels similar to those seen before the pandemic.