Demand for workers remained close to a record high at the start of the year despite the disruptions of the Omicron Covid-19 variant, another sign of a muted impact of the variant on the U.S. economy.

       The Labor Department on Wednesday said there were 11.3 million job openings in January, down slightly from the previous month’s revised 11.4 million—a new high. The number of times workers quit their jobs fell slightly to 4.3 million while hiring remained at 6.5 million at the start of the year.

       Separate private-sector figures showed that employers had more than 10.8 million openings at the end of February, according to job search site ZipRecruiter, a slight increase from the prior month’s estimate. Indeed, another job-search site, estimates there were 10.7 million job openings in mid-February. The Labor Department numbers lag behind private-sector data by about a month.

       Last year, workers quit their jobs at the highest rate on records back to 2000, the Labor Department said. That shows Americans were willing to leave employment in search of better wages or more desirable perks, including remote work, economists say.

       Job openings also rose to a record last year, remaining above 10 million for the entire second half of last year, according to the Labor Department’s revision of 2021 data. Increased demand for labor was across the board, and was focused more in consumer-facing industries such as tourism, which are still seeing elevated job opening totals as the pandemic continues.

       “Job openings are still very strong and we are seeing a little bit of a flattening, but they’re plateauing from enormous heights," said Julia Pollak, chief economist at ZipRecruiter.

       Compared with February 2020 levels, job openings have risen the fastest in manufacturing, leisure and hospitality, education and health services, according to an analysis by Indeed.

       Other indicators have shown that the U.S. economy’s recovery remained on solid footing in recent months, despite temporary disruptions due to the Omicron variant. Employers have added more than a million jobs in the first two months of this year, consumer spending rose at a brisk pace in January, and the unemployment rate is edging closer to its pre-pandemic level.

       While job openings remained near a record in January, an uptick in layoffs coupled with hiring remaining the same showed “a slight moderation in the labor market, reflecting the pause in activity due to the Omicron surge," said Stephen Stanley, chief economist of Amherst Pierpont Securities in a note.

       Layoffs reached 1.4 million in January, up from 1.3 million the month before, according to the Labor Department.

       With the pandemic easing, some firms are recalling workers to the office or other in-person settings. That may have some employees contemplating quitting their jobs.

       Talentfoot, a Chicago-based executive search firm, received a high volume of calls after some large companies announced plans to require workers to report to offices, said Chief Executive Officer Camille Fetter.

       Workers “don’t want to be told they need to physically be somewhere at a specific time," she said. “That’s when they’re picking up the phone and calling us."

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       Competing for workers with businesses that offer remote work is especially a challenge for the ones that can’t provide that option.

       Arden’s Garden, an Atlanta-based chain of cold-pressed juice shops, has found it difficult to recruit and hire employees, owner Leslie Zinn said, adding that some potential hires prefer to work remotely.

       “Retail is one of the most challenging places to retain workers," Ms. Zinn said, noting lingering health concerns and, until last month, a mask mandate in Atlanta. “It’s different if you’re working at home and you can do whatever you want. We are an in-person business."

       Economists expect the quits totals to remain high due to a tight labor market that is giving many workers confidence to change jobs.

       “We’re likely to see the quit rate remain at this elevated level simply because in a tight labor market, workers are confident they can find a new job with whatever characteristics they desire," including remote work and other factors, said Luke Pardue, an economist at Gusto, a payroll and human resources services platform.

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