Tuesday, June 4, 2024: JOLTS Report – Job Openings Decreased by 296k in April, Rate Decreased to 4.8%
The number of job openings in April was 8,059,000 – a decrease of 296,000 from March’s adjusted figure of 8,355,000 – the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) stated in its Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) Report for April 2024. [Remember, JOLTS reports a month late: April only now being reported in June].
The April job openings rate, at 4.8 percent, decreased from 5.0 percent in March. Job openings decreased in health care and social assistance (-204,000) and in state and local government education (-59,000) but increased in private educational services (+50,000).
Hires, Total Separations, Quits & Other Separations Up; Layoffs/Discharges Down; All Rates Unchanged
The number of hires in April was 5,640,000 compared to the adjusted 5,617,000 number for March (+23,000). The rate held steady at 3.6 percent.
Total separations were 5,372,000 for April, up from 5,330,000 for March (+42,000). The rate was unchanged at 3.4 percent.
Within separations, quits in April were 3,507,000, up from 3,409,000 in March (+98,000). The rate held steady at 2.2 percent.
Layoffs and discharges in April were 1,515,000, down from 1,601,000 in March (-86,000). The rate was unchanged at 1.0 percent.
The number of other separations was 349,000 in April, up from 320,000 in March (+29,000). The percentage rate held steady at 0.2.
BLS posted interactive graphs here.
Three-Month Comparison Chart of Job Openings
Our table below reports the number of available jobs (as taken from the revised JOLTS reports) from the last four months of available data.
*December Job Openings were 8,889,000
Note: BLS is scheduled to release the JOLTS Report for May 2024 on Tuesday, July 2, 2024.