Job openings were 11.4 million at the end of April. This is still much higher than historical levels, but down from the all-time high of 11.9 million in March. There are now 5.46 million more job openings than unemployed workers.

Why it matters: Along with inflation, the biggest issue facing the economy is the gap between job openings and unemployed workers.

Details:

• The largest decreases in job openings were in health care and social assistance (266,000), retail trade (162,000), and accommodation and food services (113,000).
• The largest increases were in transportation, warehousing, and utilities (97,000); nondurable goods manufacturing (67,000); and durable goods manufacturing (53,000).
• The quits rate was 2.9% in April. That is just below the all-time high rate of 3%.
• 4.4 million people quit their jobs in April, slightly down from the 4.45 million all-time high in March. Quits increased in real estate and rental and leasing (37,000) but decreased in state and local government education (19,000).

Dig deeper:

• • The Chamber and U.S. Chamber Foundation launched the America Works Initiative to mobilize industry and government to address America’s worker shortage crisis.

• The Chamber is also part of The Alliance for a New Immigration Consensus, a coalition working to build support for bipartisan legislative solutions on immigration.

—Curtis Dubay, Senior Economist, U.S. Chamber of Commerce