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Industries where job openings are increasing and decreasing most

After battling months of persistent inflation, the Federal Reserve announced in May 2023 that it would hike interest rates for the 10th time since March 2022. At the same time, wages continued to grow—a sign that perhaps the economy isn’t cooling as quickly as the Federal Reserve would like.

The job market also remained strong, with employers adding 253,000 jobs in April 2023. During the month, the number of open jobs grew to about 10.1 million—up nearly 4% from March, but still down about 14% from the prior year, Bureau of Labor Statistics data shows.

To discover which industries are driving the job market, Stacker used data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Job Openings and Labor Turnover report to see which industries grew job openings in April and which saw open positions shrink. Industries are ranked by the percent change in job openings from April 2022 to 2023. Monthly data is preliminary.

The bureau records job openings on the last business day of the month and calculates the rate as a percent of total employment plus job openings within the industry. Read through the list to gather a snapshot of the economic activity across categories—retail, health care, manufacturing, and more.

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#17. Information

– Total job openings, April 2023: 174,000
— Annual change: -100,000 (down 36.5%)
— One-month change: -7,000 (down 3.9%)
– Job openings rate: 5.3%

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#16. Real estate and rental and leasing

– Total job openings, April 2023: 102,000
— Annual change: -54,000 (down 34.6%)
— One-month change: -28,000 (down 21.5%)
– Job openings rate: 4.0%

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#15. Manufacturing

– Total job openings, April 2023: 676,000
— Annual change: -348,000 (down 34.0%)
— One-month change: -26,000 (down 3.7%)
– Job openings rate: 4.9%

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#14. Mining and logging

– Total job openings, April 2023: 31,000
— Annual change: -11,000 (down 26.2%)
— One-month change: 1,000 (up 3.3%)
– Job openings rate: 4.6%

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#13. Professional and business services

– Total job openings, April 2023: 1.7 million
— Annual change: -561,000 (down 24.3%)
— One-month change: -57,000 (down 3.2%)
– Job openings rate: 7.1%

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#12. Retail trade

– Total job openings, April 2023: 942,000
— Annual change: -179,000 (down 16.0%)
— One-month change: 209,000 (up 28.5%)
– Job openings rate: 5.7%

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#11. Accommodation and food services

– Total job openings, April 2023: 1.1 million
— Annual change: -214,000 (down 15.8%)
— One-month change: -80,000 (down 6.6%)
– Job openings rate: 7.5%

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#10. State and local education

– Total job openings, April 2023: 298,000
— Annual change: -54,000 (down 15.3%)
— One-month change: -23,000 (down 7.2%)
– Job openings rate: 2.8%

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#9. Wholesale trade

– Total job openings, April 2023: 261,000
— Annual change: -45,000 (down 14.7%)
— One-month change: -35,000 (down 11.8%)
– Job openings rate: 4.1%

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#8. Construction

– Total job openings, April 2023: 383,000
— Annual change: -35,000 (down 8.4%)
— One-month change: 68,000 (up 21.6%)
– Job openings rate: 4.6%

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#7. Health care and social assistance

– Total job openings, April 2023: 1.9 million
— Annual change: -127,000 (down 6.2%)
— One-month change: 185,000 (up 10.7%)
– Job openings rate: 8.2%

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#6. State and local government

– Total job openings, April 2023: 535,000
— Annual change: -35,000 (down 6.1%)
— One-month change: -45,000 (down 7.8%)
– Job openings rate: 5.5%

Note: This category excludes education, which is counted separately.

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#5. Educational services

– Total job openings, April 2023: 189,000
— Annual change: 0 (up 0.0%)
— One-month change: -21,000 (down 10.0%)
– Job openings rate: 4.6%

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#4. Transportation, warehousing, and utilities

– Total job openings, April 2023: 561,000
— Annual change: 26,000 (up 4.9%)
— One-month change: 154,000 (up 37.8%)
– Job openings rate: 7.1%

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#3. Finance and insurance

– Total job openings, April 2023: 412,000
— Annual change: 34,000 (up 9.0%)
— One-month change: 63,000 (up 18.1%)
– Job openings rate: 5.8%

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#2. Federal government

– Total job openings, April 2023: 130,000
— Annual change: 23,000 (up 21.5%)
— One-month change: -3,000 (down 2.3%)
– Job openings rate: 4.3%

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#1. Arts, entertainment, and recreation

– Total job openings, April 2023: 237,000
— Annual change: 81,000 (up 51.9%)
— One-month change: -6,000 (down 2.5%)
– Job openings rate: 8.9%