U.S. job openings fell in December, a sign that the labor market is cooling but still healthy.

Openings slid in December while hiring, voluntary quits and layoffs held steady, the Labor Department reported Tuesday.

U.S. job openings dropped sharply in December, but low layoffs suggested that the labor market was not abruptly slowing down. Job openings, a measure of labor demand, decreased 556,000 to 7.6 million on the last day of December,

US job openings fell in December by more than forecast to a three-month low, consistent with a gradual slowdown in the labor market. Available positions decreased to 7.60 million from a revised 8.16 million reading in November,