vs Last Month
−0.12M
Continued slow decline.
JOLTS Job Openings
U.S. Monthly · BLS · End-of-Month Count
7.62M
-0.12M vs. last month
Past 12 monthsRange 7.60 – 8.40M
Open/Unempl1.14
vs Last Year-0.78M
2022 Peak11.85M
Job openings fell to 7.62 million — the lowest since 2021 but still well above pre-pandemic norms. The openings-to-unemployed ratio of 1.14 reflects an orderly labor-market cooling, not a slump.
Historical trend
Monthly BLS JOLTS.
Source: FRED · JTSJOL
The long view: since 2001
2022 peak was historic — and is now well in the rearview.
Peak 11.85M · Mar 2022Trough 2.40M · 2009Today 7.62M
How today stacks up
vs Last Year
−0.78M
Cooling continues.
5-Yr Avg
9.50M
Skewed by 2021–22 surge.
Pre-COVID 2019
7.45M
Today essentially at 2019 levels.
Use this data
Tools for career planning.
About JOLTS Job Openings
The JOLTS (Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey) is a monthly BLS report measuring the total number of unfilled job openings in the U.S. on the last business day of each month. Today's 7.62 million means employers were actively trying to hire that many workers — covering all industries except agriculture. It's the demand side of the labor market (vs unemployment, which is the supply side).
The "labor market tightness" signal
Pre-pandemic, the U.S. typically had 1–2 job openings per unemployed worker. During the 2022 labor shortage, this ratio spiked to 2 openings per unemployed worker — historically tight. Today's reading of 7.62M openings vs 6.7M unemployed gives a ratio of about 1.14 — closer to normal but still favorable to workers. The Fed watches this ratio closely as a wage-inflation indicator: when there are far more jobs than workers, wage pressure builds.
Reading this chart
The pandemic-era spike to 11.85 million openings in March 2022 was unprecedented. The 2009 trough was 2.4 million. Today's 7.62M is comfortably in the historical "healthy" range. The slow decline from 2022 peaks has been remarkably orderly — labor market cooling without sharp job losses. The Fed is hoping this trend continues: cooling demand for labor while supply (workers) stays roughly stable.
Related trackers
Other live numbers that move with — or against — this one.
Frequently asked
What this number means, and what it doesn't.
Total job openings divided by total unemployed people. Pre-2020 averaged ~1.0 (one opening per unemployed worker). The 2022 spike to 2.0 was unprecedented. Today's 1.14 is back toward normal but still tilted in workers' favor. The Fed prefers a ratio close to 1.0 for stable wage growth.
JOLTS data is collected with a 30-day lag and released the first Tuesday of each month — meaning today's May release covers March data. Weekly jobless claims (1-week lag) and monthly Jobs Report (~2-week lag) are timelier. JOLTS is therefore a confirming indicator, not a leading one.
Covers private nonfarm employers + government. Excludes agriculture and self-employed. About 92% of total U.S. employment. The number includes part-time openings, contract roles, and seasonal jobs.
JOLTS also publishes the share of workers who voluntarily quit each month. High quit rate = worker confidence (they think they can find a better job). It peaked at 3.0% in late 2021 (the "Great Resignation"). Today it's 2.0% — close to pre-COVID normal.
Methodology
Source
Pulled from FRED · JTSJOL and cached on the EvvyTools server.
Update schedule
Refreshed automatically by our cron whenever the upstream source publishes a new value. Historical values are not revised after publication.
How we compute
Display value is the raw published number, unrounded. Comparison stats use the closest available reference date. We never edit the underlying data.