Job openings ticked up more than anticipated in April, as layoffs also rose

Job openings saw an unexpected rise for the month of April. According to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, available jobs rose by 191,000 from the previous month to nearly 7.4 million.

The increase was higher than the 7.1 million jobs FactSet economists had anticipated for the time period. The percentage of unemployed workers dropped from 1.03% to 1%, and hiring rose by 169,000 to 5.6 million.

Federal job openings are up

Somewhat surprisingly, given the Department of Government Efficiency’s mass layoffs, federal job openings also rose. In March, there were 121,000 federal jobs open. In April, that number was up to 134,000. Federal layoffs also fell to 4,000 from 8,000 in March. That was down from a staggering 19,000 in February.

While DOGE cut at least 280,000 jobs during President Trump’s first several months in office, according to recent estimates from Yahoo Finance, thousands more likely lost jobs indirectly due to cuts to federal funding. The Trump administration has cut billions in funding to national parks, disease research, national security, and more. 

April’s uptick in federal job openings could be at least partially due to the fact that several federal departments scrambled to hire employees back after conducting mass layoffs.

An uncertain moment for workers

In spite of an increase in job openings more generally, layoffs also rose, jumping to 1.79 million—an increase of 196,000. And the number of people leaving their jobs by choice, a good predictor of worker confidence, fell by 150,000 to 3.2 million, showing workers may be becoming weary about their ability to find new employment.

Carl Weinberg, chief economist at High Frequency Economics, told Reuters that the latest report is a sign that companies are retaining employees while awaiting the impact of new Trump-era policies. “Once companies are more certain that bad times are coming, they will start to shed workers.” 

Weinberg continued, “However, the economy is still near full employment. We suspect companies are still hoarding workers until they are very, very sure about an economic downturn.″