WASHINGTON (Reuters) - 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, the Labor Department's Bureau of Labor Statistics said in its Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey, or JOLTS report, on Tuesday.

Data for November was revised slightly higher to show 8.156 million vacancies instead of the previously reported 8.098 million. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast 8.0 million unfilled positions.

Layoffs fell 29,000 to 1.771 million. It is, however, becoming harder for laid off workers to find new jobs as employers remain cautious about adding headcount. Hires increased 89,000 to 5.462 million.

The Federal Reserve left its benchmark overnight interest rate unchanged in the 4.25%-4.50% range last week amid uncertainty over the economic impact of President Donald Trump's fiscal, trade and immigration policies.

The policy rate has been reduced by 100 basis points since September when the U.S. central bank started its easing policy cycle. Fed Chair Jerome Powell told reporters "we do not need to be in a hurry to adjust our policy stance."

The central bank hiked the policy rate by 5.25 percentage points in 2022 and 2023 to tame inflation.