More jobs opened up in April

June 18, 2025

Total job openings in the United States ticked up to 7.4 million at the end of April, up from 7.2 million the month before. Openings are down compared to a year ago; they have been steady on a three-month moving average basis since June 2024.

Job openings were steady in most states, month over month. Gains in New York (+61,000), California (+59,000) and Texas (+44,000) more than offset losses in Ohio (-28,000), Washington (-24,000) and Arizona (-23,000).

Real-time data from Indeed show that advertised job postings have fallen by nearly six percentage points so far in 2025. They continue to be on a general downward trend in large states such as California, New York, Massachusetts, Texas, Florida and Georgia.

New York and Florida posted gains in May; postings have since declined. That points to weakening future demand for labor.

The administration's restrictive immigration policy could lead to more job openings in states with large immigrant workforces, such as California and Texas. That depends on whether workplace raids continue; the administration has provided mixed signals about raids in agriculture, hotels and restaurants. Healthcare, especially eldercare, and construction have been discussed less; those are two sectors to watch in the months ahead.

Postings are starting to stabilize at much lower levels in Washington, D.C., Maryland and Virginia. They plummeted in recent months due to federal government layoffs. Further declines are expected in the summer and autumn.

The ratio of job openings to unemployed job seekers, a measure of balance in the labor market tracked closely by Federal Reserve officials, came in flat at 1.0 for the second straight month. The ratio increased month over month in 28 states and Washington, D.C.

Though both hiring and layoffs edged higher in April, they have been stable on three-month moving average bases. In Colorado, the hiring rate dropped to 3.8% in April from 4.9% in March in Colorado; that was still higher than the 3.5% rate in February. Monthly fluctuations obscure a relatively stable trend. Layoffs dropped to 0.8% from 1.3% in the state. Low layoffs have effectively offset low hirings across the country.

Quits were unchanged in most states; they remained low. Data from the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta show that people who stay in their jobs are now obtaining higher wage gains than those who change jobs. The wage premium for changing jobs, which helps increase churn in the labor market, evaporated in February. That has contributed to the freeze in the labor market. Workers are staying in place in the face of policy uncertainty.

At the national level, the unemployment rate edged higher to 4.19% in April from 4.15% in March. Month over month, at the state level, 45 states showed no statistically significant change in the unemployment rate. The largest changes occurred in Massachusetts (up to 4.6% in April from 4.4% in March), Washington, D.C. (up to 5.8% from 5.6%) and Indiana (down to 3.9% from 4.1%).