Job openings increased by 358,000 in April to 10.1 million, reversing a monthslong downward trend, according to the monthly JOLTS report released by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Openings rose in retail trade, health care, and transportation and warehousing. Monthly job openings have fallen from the record 12 million in March 2022 but remain above the pre-pandemic level of about 7 million.
The number of people quitting—a measure of worker confidence in the ability to leave one job for another—remained steady in April at 3.8 million. Layoffs fell by 264,000 to 1.6 million, despite continued reports of job cutting in a variety of sectors.
On Friday, the Department of Labor will report on how many jobs the U.S. economy added in April, the unemployment rate and wage gains for the month.