Summary:
Companies posted 7.6 million open jobs in April - the most since May 2024 - but hired fewer workers than they did in March.
Openings jumped by 731,000 while hiring fell by 419,000, breaking the usual pattern where those two numbers move together.
Open jobs now outnumber unemployed workers, with openings climbing to 4.6% of the labor force.
But hiring slipped the other way to 3.2% - down 0.3 percentage point from March.
Workers aren't moving either, with quits falling to just under 3 million - the lowest count since August 2020.
Quits matter because they show worker confidence. When workers feel good about finding a new job, they leave - when they don't, they stay put.
Layoffs stayed low at 1.7 million, down 192,000 from March, which suggests companies aren't firing - they're just not hiring at the pace their job postings suggest.
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Almost all of the new openings came from one place: professional and business services added 668,000 positions in April.
That category covers a lot of office work, consulting, and tech-adjacent roles - and some economists are watching it as a possible AI signal, with companies posting roles they're slow to fill or rethinking which jobs they actually need.
Healthcare added 89,000 openings while financial activities lost 134,000. Most other industries barely budged.
The Fed meets later this month and is widely expected to hold rates steady, with JOLTS being one of the reports central bankers use to gauge labor market weakness.
Last year, the Fed worried the job market was getting too soft. Now the worry has shifted to inflation from tariffs and rising energy prices tied to the Israel-Iran war.
Oxford Economics' Matthew Martin put it this way: neither workers nor employers are in a hurry to make moves.
The next test is whether the war and weaker household spending start changing how companies plan their hiring.
For now, the labor market isn't breaking. It's just stuck.
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