US job openings steady at 7.6 million in May

U.S. job openings were unchanged at 7.6 million in May 2026, with the job openings rate steady at 4.6 percent. The data indicate that overall employer demand for labor remained stable compared with the previous month. This level of openings provides a snapshot of how many positions employers were actively recruiting to fill at the end of the month.

The stability in openings follows revised April figures that also put job vacancies at 7.6 million. The lack of month-to-month change suggests that, at an aggregate level, the demand side of the labor market neither accelerated nor weakened noticeably in May.

Hires in May were unchanged at 5.2 million, corresponding to a hires rate of 3.3 percent. This indicates that, despite the large stock of open positions, the pace at which employers converted openings into new employees did not increase in the latest month.

Total separations, which include quits, layoffs, discharges, and other separations, changed little at 5.1 million in May, with a separations rate of 3.2 percent. These figures point to a labor market in which overall flows into and out of employment are steady rather than shifting sharply in either direction.

April 2026 results were revised, with job openings reported at 7.6 million, hires at 5.2 million, and total separations at 5.0 million. These revisions modestly adjust the recent history but remain consistent with a broadly stable pattern in hiring and separations.

Within total separations, quits changed little at 3.1 million in May, keeping the quits rate at 1.9 percent. The relatively steady quits level suggests that the rate at which workers voluntarily left their jobs did not materially shift during the month.

Layoffs and discharges were unchanged at 1.7 million, and the associated rate changed little at 1.1 percent. This indicates that employers did not significantly alter their use of layoffs or involuntary separations in May, reinforcing the picture of a labor market without sharp downside adjustments.

Beneath the aggregate totals, several industries experienced more noticeable changes. Job openings increased in wholesale trade by 71,000 in May, pointing to greater recruitment activity in that sector. This contrasts with the flat trend in openings at the overall economy level.

Hires increased in the federal government by 11,000, indicating a pickup in public sector onboarding relative to the prior month. In contrast, layoffs and discharges decreased by 42,000 in arts, entertainment, and recreation, suggesting fewer involuntary separations in that industry in May.

These sector-level movements show that, even when national totals appear largely unchanged, the composition of labor demand and employment flows can shift across different parts of the economy from month to month.