US Job Openings Lowest Since February 2021, Falls 33 Percent in Last Two Years

Job openings in the United States declined in April to hit the lowest level in more than three years, with the decline likely to play a role in the Federal Reserve’s decision to cut interest rates. Nonfarm job openings in April dropped by 296,000 to 8.05 million, data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics shows. Compared to April 2023, job openings have declined by over 1.8 million. “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),” the jobs report said. The 8.05 million openings is the lowest since February 2021 when the figure was at 7.81 million. Since hitting a peak of 12.18 million in March 2022, job openings have declined by over 33 percent....