Input Stories

Job openings for manufacturing decreased by 16,000, from 397,000 in March to 381,000 in Furthermore, the March job openings level of 397,000 was revised downward dramatically from 449,000 in the previous report. Nondurable goods job openings in April stayed the same at 136,000, while durable goods job openings declined by 16,000, from 261,000 in March to 245,000 in April. The manufacturing job openings rate edged down to 2.9% from 3.0% in March and fell from 3.7% the previous year. The rate for nondurable goods manufacturing stayed the same at 2.7%, while it slipped 0.2% to 3.0% for durable goods.

In the larger economy, the number of job openings rose to 7.4 million, an increase of 191,000 from the previous month but a decrease of 228,000 from the previous year. The job openings rate ticked up to 4.4%, up from 4.3% in March but down from 4.6% last year. This data reflects an overall labor market that has eased back to pre-pandemic levels, but remains strong and tight from a historical perspective.

The number of hires in the overall economy increased 169,000 to 5.6 million in April but dropped 11,000 from the previous year. The hires rate for the overall economy inched up 0.1% in April to 3.5%. Meanwhile, the hires rate for manufacturing similarly ticked up 0.1% in April to 2.6%. The hires rate for durable goods rose 0.2% to 2.6% but edged down 0.1% to 2.6% for nondurable goods.

In the larger economy, total separations, which include quits, layoffs, discharges and other separations, rose 105,000 from March to 5.3 million and dropped 100,000 from the previous year. The total separations rate stayed the same at 3.3% for the overall economy but inched up 0.1% for manufacturing to 2.5%. Within that rate, layoffs and discharges increased by 14,000 in April for manufacturing, while quits increased by 2,000. The quit and layoff rates continue to remain lower for manufacturing than the total nonfarm sector.