U.S. job openings unexpectedly increased in April alongside gains in hiring and layoffs, signaling a relatively stable labor market.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics released its Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey on June 3, revealing nearly 7.4 million available positions in April, NBC News reported. The spike increased by 191,000 from March and surpassed the 7.1 million projected by economists surveyed by FactSet.
Year over year, job openings decreased by 228,000, or approximately 3%. The ratio of job openings to unemployed workers declined slightly to 1.03 to 1, nearly matching March’s level. Both hiring and layoffs saw an increase, with hires rising by 169,000 to 5.6 million and layoffs increasing by 196,000 to 1.79 million.
Despite the increase in job openings, the number of quits — a key measure of worker confidence in finding new employment — dipped by 150,000 to 3.2 million.
“The labor market is returning to more normal levels despite the uncertainty within the macro outlook,” said Jeffrey Roach, chief economist at LPL Research. “Underlying patterns in hirings and firings suggest the labor market is holding steady.”
The report follows other indicators showing a slowdown in hiring. Economists project job growth of 125,000, down from April’s 177,000, yet still reflective of a resilient labor market. The unemployment rate is expected to remain steady at 4.2%.
Federal Reserve officials are closely monitoring key economic data to assess how various factors are influencing the broader economy. While there are concerns that tariffs could fuel inflation and curb hiring, there are no concrete economic indicators. However, sentiment surveys reflect growing anxiety about both issues.
“For many sectors, I’m not hearing that the labor markets are changing in material ways,” Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic said in a scrum with reporters Tuesday. “At the macro level, I haven’t gotten sort of a strong overarching picture or impression that things are moving in a significant way, and we’ll just have to see if that stays or whether something changes.”
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