These industries had the biggest swings in job openings

Job openings are at some of their lowest levels nationally since April 2021, Bureau of Labor Statistics data shows.

After hitting a low point of about 8.9 million in July 2023, job openings rose in August to 9.5 million and stayed steady in September. A year ago, that number was at 10.9 million.

Employers have continued to add jobs, upping employment by 336,000 in September. Meanwhile, the unemployment rate remained the same at 3.8%. So while Americans still find themselves largely employed, their capacity to job-hop is quickly falling to levels predating the Great Resignation. For now, the number of job openings remains well above pre-COVID levels, which were typically somewhere around 7 million.

Conrad DeQuadros, a senior economic advisor at Brean Capital, told Reuters that excess labor demand is declining and the labor market is rebalancing. For workers, this means less confidence in finding new employment outside their current jobs. For employers, it could mean tempering wage inflation.

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 September and which saw open positions shrink. Industries are ranked by the percent change in job openings from September 2022 to September 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. Federal government

– Total job openings, September 2023: 131,000
— Annual change: -54,000 (down 29.2%)
— One-month change: -43,000 (down 24.7%)
– Job openings rate: 4.2%

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#16. Information

– Total job openings, September 2023: 160,000
— Annual change: -59,000 (down 26.9%)
— One-month change: -41,000 (down 20.4%)
– Job openings rate: 4.9%

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#15. Professional and business services

– Total job openings, September 2023: 1.6 million
— Annual change: -523,000 (down 24.3%)
— One-month change: -105,000 (down 6.0%)
– Job openings rate: 6.6%

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#14. Manufacturing

– Total job openings, September 2023: 627,000
— Annual change: -185,000 (down 22.8%)
— One-month change: +23,000 (up 3.8%)
– Job openings rate: 4.6%

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#13. Real estate and rental and leasing

– Total job openings, September 2023: 168,000
— Annual change: -40,000 (down 19.2%)
— One-month change: +26,000 (up 18.3%)
– Job openings rate: 6.5%

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#12. Retail trade

– Total job openings, September 2023: 674,000
— Annual change: -153,000 (down 18.5%)
— One-month change: +23,000 (up 3.5%)
– Job openings rate: 4.2%

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#11. Transportation, warehousing, and utilities

– Total job openings, September 2023: 463,000
— Annual change: -79,000 (down 14.6%)
— One-month change: +42,000 (up 10.0%)
– Job openings rate: 6.0%

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#10. Health care and social assistance

– Total job openings, September 2023: 1.8 million
— Annual change: -271,000 (down 13.4%)
— One-month change: -50,000 (down 2.8%)
– Job openings rate: 7.5%

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#9. State and local government

– Total job openings, September 2023: 515,000
— Annual change: -70,000 (down 12.0%)
— One-month change: -45,000 (down 8.0%)
– Job openings rate: 5.2%

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#8. Accommodation and food services

– Total job openings, September 2023: 1.2 million
— Annual change: -136,000 (down 10.1%)
— One-month change: +141,000 (up 13.2%)
– Job openings rate: 7.8%

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#7. Construction

– Total job openings, September 2023: 431,000
— Annual change: -35,000 (down 7.5%)
— One-month change: +56,000 (up 14.9%)
– Job openings rate: 5.1%

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#6. Educational services

– Total job openings, September 2023: 173,000
— Annual change: -12,000 (down 6.5%)
— One-month change: +9,000 (up 5.5%)
– Job openings rate: 4.2%

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#5. Arts, entertainment, and recreation

– Total job openings, September 2023: 205,000
— Annual change: +5,000 (up 2.5%)
— One-month change: +39,000 (up 23.5%)
– Job openings rate: 7.6%

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#4. Wholesale trade

– Total job openings, September 2023: 259,000
— Annual change: +7,000 (up 2.8%)
— One-month change: +23,000 (up 9.7%)
– Job openings rate: 4.1%

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#3. State and local education

– Total job openings, September 2023: 337,000
— Annual change: +41,000 (up 13.9%)
— One-month change: +7,000 (up 2.1%)
– Job openings rate: 3.1%

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#2. Mining and logging

– Total job openings, September 2023: 35,000
— Annual change: +6,000 (up 20.7%)
— One-month change: +5,000 (up 16.7%)
– Job openings rate: 5.2%

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#1. Finance and insurance

– Total job openings, September 2023: 479,000
— Annual change: +204,000 (up 74.2%)
— One-month change: +69,000 (up 16.8%)
– Job openings rate: 6.6%