The number of available jobs in the US unexpectedly increased in April, new data showed Tuesday, a potential indicator that the labor market isn’t yet buckling amid broader economic concerns.
Job openings totaled an estimated 7.39 million at the end of April, up from 7.2 million in March, according to new data released Tuesday by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The monthly Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey showed how the US labor market — job openings, hires, quits and separations such as layoffs — is adapting as President Donald Trump’s sweeping (and frequently shifting) policy actions kicked into higher gear in April, rattling consumers, businesses and investors alike and reigniting recession fears.
However, the data also showed that there’s not much churn happening at all, reflecting a jobs market that’s “distressingly gridlocked” as economic uncertainty and a whipsaw federal approach to tariffs have businesses frozen in their tracks, Allison Shrivastava, an economist with employment site Indeed, told CNN in an interview.
Businesses are “a bit more of deer in the headlights, not knowing what direction to take,” she said.
Economists were expecting that job openings — a closely watched measurement of labor market demand — would fall for the third consecutive month to 7.1 million, according to FactSet consensus estimates.
April’s report showed that job openings increased across most sectors, with some of the largest upswings seen in arts, entertainment and recreation; mining and logging; information; and professional and business services.
Still, some of the sharpest pullbacks in job postings were also in leisure and hospitality, with declines at restaurants, hotels, as well as other service-providing businesses.
“An increase in business services roles — which typically require somewhat longer and more dedicated planning and commitment — could indicate businesses are more confident than expected,” Shrivastava noted in commentary released Tuesday. “On the other hand, a pullback in sectors more reliant on discretionary spending, including retail and accommodation, could indicate an emerging caution on the part of consumers, which may be a signal for what’s to come.”
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An increase in jobs is a potential indicator that the labor market isn’t yet buckling amid broader economic concerns