Job openings rise in middle of trade wars, but businesses are slower to hire

[mahatmakanejeeves]

Source: MarketWatch

Job openings rise in middle of trade wars, but businesses are slower to hire

By Jeffry Bartash
Published: June 3, 2025 at 10:09 a.m. ET

Job openings in the U.S. rose in April even after President Trump jacked up tariffs on the rest of the world, but companies were slow to fill new positions given all the uncertainty caused by the worst trade wars since the 1930s.

New job postings rose to 7.4 million at the end of April from 7.2 million in the prior month, the government said Tuesday.

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Read more: https://www.marketwatch.com/story/job-openings-rise-in-middle-of-trade-wars-but-businesses-are-slower-to-hire-60ea7778

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Job openings unexpectedly increased in April, a sign of US labor market resilience
https://www.cnn.com/2025/06/03/economy/us-job-openings-layoffs-jolts-april

By Alicia Wallace, CNN
2 minute read
Updated 10:24 AM EDT, Tue June 3, 2025

(CNN) — The number of available jobs in the US unexpectedly increased in April, signaling a potential undercurrent of strength in the labor market despite broader economic uncertainty. ... 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.

Economists were expecting that job openings — a measurement of labor market demand — would fall for the third consecutive month to 7.1 million, according to FactSet consensus estimates.

In addition to posting more jobs, employers brought more people on board: Hiring activity increased to its highest rate in seven months, and the number of estimated hires (5.57 million) was the highest in nearly a year, BLS data shows.

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