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Human Times
North America
U.S. job openings rise in January as layoffs decline

U.S. job openings increased in January while layoffs fell, suggesting labor demand improved at the start of the year even as broader signs point to a weakening job market. According to the Labor Department's latest JOLTS report, available positions rose to 6.95m from 6.55m in December, exceeding economists’ expectations, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Layoffs declined to 1.63m, while the hiring rate remained unchanged. Gains in job openings were seen across several industries, including finance, health care, retail, and hospitality, with manufacturing openings reaching their highest level since mid-2024. Despite the rise in vacancies, hiring remained subdued and the number of unemployed people continued to exceed available jobs, indicating a relatively fragile labor market and supporting the Federal Reserve’s view that employment conditions are not currently fueling inflation.

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Human Times
UK
Labour's cash boost for youth jobs

Companies are to be paid grants to hire more young people under new government proposals to tackle youth unemployment. Ministers want to create 200,000 jobs and are pledging £1bn in funding for several initiatives. Businesses will receive £3,000 for every person between the ages 18 and 24 that they employ who has been searching for a job for six months or more, while small and medium firms will be paid £2,000 for every new apprentice they take on. Work and Pensions Secretary Pat McFadden is set to announce the Youth Jobs Grant today. Some 60,000 people are expected to be supported by the proposals. McFadden said the new measures would giving "life-changing opportunities to young people" that will "significantly reverse the increase we inherited in those not in education, employment or training." He added: "We are focusing funding where it's needed most and giving employers the flexibility and support they've asked for."

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Human Times
Europe
UK cash boost for youth jobs

Companies in the UK are to be paid grants to hire more young people under new government proposals to tackle youth unemployment. Ministers want to create 200,000 jobs and are pledging £1bn (€1.16bn) in funding for several initiatives. Businesses will receive £3,000 (€3,480) for every person between the ages 18 and 24 that they employ who has been searching for a job for six months or more, while small and medium firms will be paid £2,000 for every new apprentice they take on. Work and Pensions Secretary Pat McFadden is set to announce the Youth Jobs Grant today. Some 60,000 people are expected to be supported by the proposals. McFadden said the new measures would giving "life-changing opportunities to young people" that will "significantly reverse the increase we inherited in those not in education, employment or training."

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Human Times
Middle East
AI is making workloads more intense

AI is increasing the speed, density and complexity of work rather than reducing it, according to an analysis of 164,000 workers’ digital work activity by workforce analytics and productivity-tracking software company ActivTrak. The data covers more than 443m hours of work across 1,111 employers, making it one of the biggest studies of AI’s effects on work habits to date, the Wall Street Journal reports. “It’s not that AI doesn’t create efficiency,” observed Gabriela Mauch, ActivTrak’s chief customer officer. “It’s that the capacity it frees up immediately gets repurposed into doing other work, and that’s where the creep is likely to happen.”

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