Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York on January 14, 2026.
Timothy A. Clary | Afp | Getty Images
U.S. Treasury yields were lower on Thursday as investors reacted to a number of labor market data releases Thursday that revealed more signs of weakness.
The 10-year Treasury yield dropped more than 4 basis points to 4.23%, and the 30-year Treasury yield was 3 basis points lower at 4.885%. The 2-year Treasury note yield was down more than 6 basis points at 3.498%.
One basis point is equal to 0.01%, and yields and prices move in opposite directions.
The latest JOLTs job openings report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics was among the latest releases, finding that job openings in December dropped to 6.54 million from the downwardly revised 6.93 million seen in November. That new figure is the lowest level for job openings since September 2020.
Yields initially dropped further Thursday after the Labor Department reported that initial jobless claims for the week ended Jan. 31 came in at 231,000, increasing by 22,000 from the prior weekly period and well above the 212,000 that economists polled by Dow Jones had expected.
“Fed officials took down their caution of risks in the labor markets at the December meeting, but may have to put the warning sign back up when they meet again next month,” said Chris Rupkey, chief economist at FWDBONDS. “The economy is not out of the woods yet on the downside risks to growth and this may mean more Fed rate cuts are on the way this year than market’s currently anticipate.”
Earlier in the day, Challenger, Gray& Christmas reported that announced layoffs in January hit their highest for the month since 2009. Similarly, planned hirings were at their lowest since the same year.
All eyes are now turning to the BLS’ January jobs report, which is due out next Wednesday after the brief partial government shutdown delayed its original release for this week.
“With the BLS payrolls data delayed until next week, the unemployment insurance figures will help refine investors’ perception of the labor market as January came to a close,” Ian Lyngen, head of U.S. rates strategy at BMO Capital said in a note.
He added that “an as-expected print would confirm that initial jobless claims printed at a historically subdued level over the course of January – consistent with the prevailing ‘low-hire, low-fire’ nature of the current jobs market.”
Wednesday’s ADP report for January showed that private companies added only 22,000 positions last month, less than the 37,000 increase in December, reflecting a lackluster job market.