Job openings fall to new 3-year low

Originally Published: 04 JUN 24 10:03 ET

Updated: 04 JUN 24 10:22 ET

By Alicia Wallace, CNN

(CNN) — The number of job openings in the US shrank for the second month in a row, setting a new three-year low amid further signals of cooling in the labor market.

There were 8.06 million available jobs posted in April, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ latest Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) report released Tuesday. That’s below the downwardly revised 8.36 million seen a month before.

Economists were expecting job openings to register 8.36 million, according to FactSet estimates.

As of April, there were an estimated 1.2 available jobs for every job seeker. That’s the lowest ratio since June 2021, BLS data shows.

The job market has been historically strong during the past couple of years, providing a firm foundation for hearty consumer spending that has propelled the economy forward despite dueling pressures of elevated inflation and high interest rates.

A slowing of job growth could put the labor market on closer footing to pre-pandemic levels, but it also could mean a slowing in the broader economy. The Federal Reserve, in its battle against high inflation, is wanting to see demand soften and price hikes slow before cutting rates.

In addition to the decline in job openings, other measures of labor turnover showed minimal movement in April. The quits rate, which measures voluntary separations as a percentage of total employment, held steady at 2.2% for the sixth consecutive month.

The number of new hires moved up slightly to 5.64 million from 5.62 million; total quits inched higher to 3.51 million from 3.41 million; and layoffs dropped to 1.52 million from 1.6 million in March.

Layoffs are at their lowest level since December 2022.

This story is developing and will be updated.

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