Jobs

Job openings unexpectedly fall in April to lowest level in 3 years

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3 months ago

June 4, 2024

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Job openings unexpectedly fall in April to lowest level in 3 years

BofA Securities head of U.S. economics Michael Gapen discusses whether the April jobs report will change the Fed’s interest rate decision on ‘Making Money.’

U.S. job openings tumbled in April to the lowest level in more than three years, the latest sign that the labor market is cooling off as the economy slows.

The Labor Department said Tuesday there were 8.1 million job openings in April, a decrease from the downwardly revised 8.35 million openings reported the previous month. Economists surveyed by LSEG expected a reading of 8.3 million.

It marked the lowest level for job openings since February 2021.

Elementary school educators gather to talk to prospective hires during a hiring event for Prince George’s County school district hosted at Dr. Henry A. Wise Jr. High School in Upper Marlboro, Maryland, on Aug. 2, 2023. (Amanda Andrade-Rhoades/For The Washington Post via Getty Images / Getty Images)

The Federal Reserve closely watches these figures as it tries to gauge labor market tightness and wrestle inflation under control.

Still, job openings remain historically high. Before the COVID-19 pandemic began in early 2020, the highest on record was 7.6 million. There are roughly 1.5 jobs per unemployed American.

The number of Americans quitting their jobs, meanwhile, was mostly unchanged at 3.6 million, or roughly 2.2% of the workforce, indicating that workers remain confident they can leave their jobs and find employment elsewhere.

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The report also indicated that layoffs were largely unchanged last month, hovering around 1.5 million.