Summary<\/p>\n
US job openings surged to 7.62 million in April, reaching their highest level since mid-2024.
\n Voluntary quits fell to their lowest level since the pandemic as workers clung to existing jobs amid economic uncertainty.
\n Hiring and layoff rates both retreated in April after spikes the previous month, signaling a stabilizing but cautious labor market.<\/p>\n
\n AI-generated summary was reviewed by a CNN editor.<\/p>\n
\n US businesses are brushing off those \u201cNow Hiring\u201d signs: Job openings rose sharply in April to their highest level in nearly two years, Bureau of Labor Statistics data showed Tuesday.\n <\/p>\n
\n However, the latest look at labor turnover also showed that those job postings aren\u2019t necessarily turning into job offers \u2013 the US job market remains entrenched in a low-hire, low-fire dynamic<\/a>.\n <\/p>\n \n The number of available jobs jumped to an estimated 7.62 million positions at the end of April, increasing from 6.89 million in March and bucking a two-month decline, the latest Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey showed.\n <\/p>\n \n At the same time, the number of new hires and layoffs both tumbled after bolting higher in March; and voluntary quits fell to their lowest level in nearly six years, an indication of workers\u2019 slipping confidence in the labor market.\n <\/p>\n \n The imbalance between employers\u2019 wish lists and their payrolls can be partly attributed to rising labor costs and broader economic uncertainty, Noah Yosif, chief economist at the American Staffing Association, told CNN in an interview.\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cMiscalculating on the wrong worker can be costly for employers, and so employers are really taking their time to make sure they are filling jobs with the right candidates,\u201d he said.\n <\/p>\n \n First, a level-set: Monthly data can be immensely volatile, and April\u2019s data could be revised when the May JOLTS rolls around. Plus, JOLTS and other economic reports have been dogged by low survey response rates.\n <\/p>\n \n If Tuesday\u2019s data, particularly the spike in job openings, doesn\u2019t turn out to be a blip, it could indicate that the US labor market not only is stabilizing but also possibly expanding<\/a>.\n <\/p>\n \n For the first time since last June, there are more job openings than job seekers.\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cIt\u2019s an important milestone to give job seekers hope,\u201d said Heather Long, chief economist at Navy Federal Credit Union.\n <\/p>\n \n This could all be welcome news for white-collar workers whose industries have been in contraction, as well as for those who fear the AI axe<\/a> will fall on them.\n <\/p>\n \n More than 90% of the increase in April job openings was in the professional and business services industry, BLS data showed.\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cGranted, one report doesn\u2019t make a trend \u2026 but it definitely pushes back on that narrative that we\u2019ve been worrying about for quite a while, which is that artificial intelligence is going to be the great job-killer,\u201d Yosif said. \u201cEmployers are finding ways to involve humans even though responsibilities are likely going to continue to shift as these technologies permeate within the labor market.\u201d\n <\/p>\n