A lot of people spent much of last year convinced that the U.S. was on the cusp of a recession—including those in charge of hiring and firing workers.

Lately, though, with the economy continuing to grow even as inflation has been coming down, those recession worries have moderated. This might not lead to a reacceleration of job growth, but it could set the conditions for the labor market to not cool as much over the next year as many economists and Federal Reserve policymakers expect.