- Wage Growth Slows: Average hourly earnings increased by 0.2% in April, reflecting a continued deceleration from earlier months and signaling easing wage pressures across the labor market.
- U-6 Unemployment Remains Elevated: The broader U-6 unemployment rate, which includes underemployed and discouraged workers, held steady at 7.8%, about 0.9 percentage points higher than the same time last year.
- Continued Growth in Financial Activities: Employment in the financial activities sector rose by 14,000 jobs in April. Since reaching its employment low in April 2024, the industry has added a total of 103,000 positions.
March 2025 JOLTS Report & April Labor Market Highlights
- Job Openings Rate Holds Steady: In March, the job openings rate remained unchanged at 4.3%. However, the federal government sector saw a notable decline of 36,000 openings.
The April jobs report showed that the U.S. economy added 177,000 jobs, surpassing expectations of 130,000. The unemployment rate held steady at 4.2%, and average hourly earnings rose 0.2% month over month equating to a 3.8% year over year increase. However, job gains for February and March were revised down by a combined 58,000.
Despite the revisions, sectors such as healthcare, transportation, and warehousing continued to show steady growth.
On the demand side, the March JOLTS data revealed 7.2 million job openings, a sharp decline of 901,000 from the previous year, marking the lowest level since September 2020. This sustained drop in openings over the past year points to increasing employer caution, which may begin to factor into the Federal Reserve’s approach to interest rate policy.
In the public sector, federal government employment declined by 9,000 in April, following a loss of 4,000 in March. (It’s worth noting that individuals on paid leave or receiving severance are still counted as employed in BLS surveys.) Meanwhile, increased hiring at the state and local levels helped support a positive net employment figure across the broader government sector.
A Closer Look at April’s Labor Market Metrics
- Broader Unemployment Unchanged: The U-6 unemployment rate, which includes discouraged workers and those working part-time for economic reasons, held steady at 7.8%.
- Prime Age Participation Rises: Labor force participation among individuals aged 25 to 54 increased by 0.3 percentage points to 83.6%, reflecting growing engagement among core working age adults.
- Overall Labor Force Participation Inches Up: The overall participation rate rose slightly to 62.6%, still 0.8 percentage points below its pre pandemic level in February 2020.
- Earnings Growth Slows: Average hourly earnings for all private nonfarm employees rose by 6 cents (0.2%) to $36.06 in April, bringing the 12 month wage increase to 3.8%. For production and nonsupervisory employees, average hourly earnings increased by 10 cents (0.3%) to $31.06.
- Workweek Stability: The average workweek for all private nonfarm employees remained unchanged at 34.3 hours. In manufacturing, the average workweek declined slightly by 0.2 hours to 40.0 hours, with overtime holding steady at 2.9 hours. Among production and nonsupervisory workers, the workweek was unchanged at 33.8 hours.
- ADP Reports: 62,000 jobs were added in April.
Source: ADP, BLS, CNBC, Fox News
Job Openings and Labor Turnover: March 2025
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the number of job openings in March remained relatively unchanged at 7.2 million. Hiring activity held steady at 5.4 million, while total separations, comprising quits, layoffs, and other exits also saw little movement at 5.1 million.
Within separations:
- Quits remained flat at 3.3 million, indicating stable worker confidence.
- Layoffs and discharges edged down slightly to 1.6 million, suggesting minimal change in involuntary turnover.
This report includes estimates on job openings, hires, and separations across the total nonfarm sector, broken down by industry and establishment size. Job openings reflect all positions available on the last business day of the month, while hires and separations capture all payroll changes occurring throughout the month.
Job Openings, Hires and Separations: March 2025
Job Openings
Job openings held steady at 7.2 million in March but were down by 901,000 compared to the same time last year. The job openings rate remained unchanged at 4.3%. Notably, the number of openings in the federal government sector declined by 36,000.
Hires
Hiring activity was flat in March, with the number of hires unchanged at 5.4 million and a consistent hire rate of 3.4%. Hiring levels remained largely stable across all industries.
Separations
Total separations, which include quits, layoffs and discharges, and other types of exits also held steady at 5.1 million, with the separation rate at 3.2%.
- Quits, a measure of voluntary job changes and employee confidence, remained unchanged at 3.3 million, with a quits rate of 2.1%. However, quits declined notably in transportation, warehousing, and utilities (-49,000).
- Layoffs and discharges, reflecting involuntary separations, edged down to 1.6 million, with the rate holding at 1.0%. Layoffs decreased in retail trade (-66,000) and the federal government (-11,000), but rose in state and local government excluding education (+17,000).
- Other separations, which include retirements, deaths, disabilities, and internal transfers, were little changed at 247,000.
At the government level, total separations increased in state and local government (excluding education) by 28,000, but fell in the federal sector by 8,000.
Establishment Size
Job openings, hiring, and separations remained stable among both the smallest employers (1–9 employees) and the largest (5,000 or more employees), showing little or no change.
February 2025 Revisions
- Job openings were revised down by 88,000 to 7.5 million.
- Hires were revised down by 26,000 to 5.4 million.
- Total separations were revised up by 55,000 to 5.3 million.
-Within separations, quits were revised up by 55,000 to 3.3 million.
– Layoffs and discharges were revised down by 10,000 to 1.8 million.
Note: Monthly revisions reflect additional data received from employers as well as updated seasonal adjustment calculations.
The Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey estimates for April 2025 are scheduled to be released on Tuesday, June 3, 2025, at 10:00 a.m. (ET).