The second estimate of Q4 2025 GDP showed the U.S. economy grew at an annualized rate of 0.7%, down sharply from 4.3% in Q3 and the first Q4 estimate of 1.4%. The drop was driven in large part by cuts in government spending during the shutdown. Initial jobless claims fell by 1,000 last week to 213,000, while continuing claims fell by 21,000 to 1.850 million. The fact that initial claims have remained low could be pointing to unemployed workers turning to gig work as they are not captured in this data. Job openings rose to 6.95 million in January from 6.5 million in December, well above market expectations, and remain far below the 2022 peak of more than 12 million. Because some remote roles are posted across multiple states, the true number of available jobs may be even lower.