(seems a bit odd as usually there's not much hiring going on around the holidays, yet in 2023 December had the highest hiring numbers according to that data)
Anecdotally, my job search started feeling more promising around mid-December.
Probably because of new budgets in the new financial year right?
My company tends to hire and promote a load of people in Jan
One company is planning to make me an offer, but they have to wait for the new FY to start in February before they can seek approval for another remote employee.
The other company is hiring to replace someone who recently left. The team is pretty lean, so IIUC they can't easily cover the departing employee's skillset.
It seems for the last year or two the numbers are revised down once or twice after they are released.
In 2022, there were slightly more months (7) with upward revisions than downward (5)