Chicago – June 03, 2026
US businesses are brushing off those “Now Hiring” signs: Job openings rose sharply in April to their highest level in nearly two years, Bureau of Labor Statistics data showed Tuesday.
However, the latest look at labor turnover also showed that those job postings aren’t necessarily turning into job offers – the US job market remains entrenched in a low-hire, low-fire dynamic.
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.
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’ slipping confidence in the labor market.
The imbalance between employers’ 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. “Miscalculating 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,” he said.
