Job openings jump to 7.6 million, highest since May 2024

U.S. job openings rose to 7.6 million in April, beating forecasts, while hiring and quits declined in a mixed labor-market signal.

U.S. job openings rose sharply in April to their highest level in nearly two years, even as companies pulled back on actual hiring, according to a Bureau of Labor Statistics report released Tuesday.

Available positions climbed to 7.6 million for the month, up 731,000 from March and the highest level since May 2024, the BLS Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey showed. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones had expected 6.8 million openings.

The report offered a mixed read on the labor market: employers appeared to have more open roles, but they were less aggressive in filling them. Openings moved above the number of unemployed workers, and the openings rate rose 0.4 percentage point to 4.6% of the labor force.

Hiring weakened at the same time. Companies brought on 5.12 million workers in April, down 419,000 from March, pushing the hiring rate down 0.3 percentage point to 3.2%.

The increase in postings was concentrated heavily in professional and business services, which added 668,000 openings. Health care and social assistance added 89,000, while financial activities fell by 134,000. Most other major categories changed little.

Other measures of labor-market churn also softened. Layoffs and discharges declined by 192,000 to 1.7 million. Quits, often watched as a gauge of workers’ confidence in finding another job, fell by 183,000 to just under 3 million, the lowest level since August 2020.

The figures fit the low-hiring, low-layoff pattern that has defined much of the labor market since early 2025. Weekly jobless claims have generally remained low, and the unemployment rate has held near 4.3%.

“For now, the labor market remains mostly stable,” Matthew Martin, senior U.S. economist at Oxford Economics, said in a note cited in the report. “With the quits rate and the layoff rate ticking down in April, neither employees nor employers are in a hurry to make moves.”

Federal Reserve officials monitor the JOLTS data for signs of labor-market slack. The central bank meets later this month and is widely expected to leave interest rates unchanged, with policymakers’ focus having shifted from labor weakness toward inflation pressures tied to tariffs and energy costs.

The next labor-market readings will help show whether April’s jump in openings marks a durable rebound in demand or another uneven signal from an economy where employers remain cautious about adding staff.