States with the most job openings in January

Published 6:30 pm Wednesday, January 24, 2024

States with the most job openings in January

Job openings across the U.S. were down by about 26,000 in January, the latest Bureau of Labor Statistics data shows.

At the end of the month, there were about 8.9 million open jobs nationwide. Though job openings are down from peaks in early 2022, they remain much higher than in any previous decade in recent history. Compared to January 2020, for example, the most recent monthly job openings were up by about 1.7 million.

The national job openings rate was 5.3% in January—meaning around 5 in 100 jobs in the economy are unfilled. Industries such as health care and professional/business services are experiencing even higher job-opening rates as they struggle to recruit and retain employees. Many companies with job openings report having few or no qualified applicants for the positions.

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Labor market trends vary widely by locale, with job-opening rates ranging from 3.9% to 7.4% in various states. To get a more complete view, Stacker used Bureau of Labor Statistics data to rank states by their job opening rates in January, using the number of job openings as a tiebreaker when needed. BLS calculates job opening rates as the number of job openings per total jobs—filled or open—in a state. January estimates are preliminary.


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#51. Hawaii

– Job opening rate: 3.9%
– Number of job openings: 26,000

Sean Pavone // Shutterstock

#50. Arizona

– Job opening rate: 4.3%
– Number of job openings: 144,000

Marek Masik // Shutterstock

#49. California

– Job opening rate: 4.4%
– Number of job openings: 819,000

Agnieszka Gaul // Shutterstock

#48. Washington

– Job opening rate: 4.6%
– Number of job openings: 175,000

Mihai_Andritoiu // Shutterstock

#47. New Jersey

– Job opening rate: 4.6%
– Number of job openings: 211,000

Sean Pavone // Shutterstock

#46. Indiana

– Job opening rate: 4.7%
– Number of job openings: 162,000

Katherine Welles // Shutterstock

#45. Nebraska

– Job opening rate: 4.9%
– Number of job openings: 55,000

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#44. Arkansas

– Job opening rate: 5.0%
– Number of job openings: 71,000

Sean Pavone // Shutterstock

#43. Connecticut

– Job opening rate: 5.0%
– Number of job openings: 90,000

Sean Pavone // Shutterstock

#42. Utah

– Job opening rate: 5.0%
– Number of job openings: 91,000

Mia2you // Shutterstock

#41. Florida

– Job opening rate: 5.0%
– Number of job openings: 518,000

randy andy // Shutterstock

#40. Nevada

– Job opening rate: 5.1%
– Number of job openings: 84,000

Mihai_Andritoiu // Shutterstock

#39. Wisconsin

– Job opening rate: 5.1%
– Number of job openings: 163,000

George Wirt // Shutterstock

#38. Rhode Island

– Job opening rate: 5.2%
– Number of job openings: 28,000

Sean Pavone // Shutterstock

#37. Texas

– Job opening rate: 5.3%
– Number of job openings: 781,000

f11photo // Shutterstock

#36. Washington DC

– Job opening rate: 5.4%
– Number of job openings: 44,000

Jacob Boomsma // Shutterstock

#35. Kansas

– Job opening rate: 5.4%
– Number of job openings: 82,000

Sean Pavone // Shutterstock

#34. Massachusetts

– Job opening rate: 5.4%
– Number of job openings: 214,000

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#33. Georgia

– Job opening rate: 5.4%
– Number of job openings: 283,000

Sean Pavone // Shutterstock

#32. Illinois

– Job opening rate: 5.4%
– Number of job openings: 349,000

Wangkun Jia // Shutterstock

#31. New York

– Job opening rate: 5.4%
– Number of job openings: 556,000

Albert Pego // Shutterstock

#30. Vermont

– Job opening rate: 5.5%
– Number of job openings: 18,000

JohnDSmith // Shutterstock

#29. South Dakota

– Job opening rate: 5.5%
– Number of job openings: 27,000

Sean Pavone // Shutterstock

#28. New Hampshire

– Job opening rate: 5.5%
– Number of job openings: 41,000

Rotorhead 30A Productions // Shutterstock

#27. Kentucky

– Job opening rate: 5.5%
– Number of job openings: 117,000

Sean Pavone // Shutterstock

#26. Michigan

– Job opening rate: 5.5%
– Number of job openings: 261,000

Jacob Boomsma // Shutterstock

#25. North Dakota

– Job opening rate: 5.6%
– Number of job openings: 26,000

Kevin Ruck // Shutterstock

#24. Alabama

– Job opening rate: 5.6%
– Number of job openings: 129,000

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#23. Ohio

– Job opening rate: 5.6%
– Number of job openings: 334,000

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#22. Pennsylvania

– Job opening rate: 5.6%
– Number of job openings: 367,000

Charles Knowles // Shutterstock

#21. Idaho

– Job opening rate: 5.7%
– Number of job openings: 52,000

Jacob Boomsma // Shutterstock

#20. Iowa

– Job opening rate: 5.7%
– Number of job openings: 96,000

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#19. Minnesota

– Job opening rate: 5.7%
– Number of job openings: 183,000

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#18. North Carolina

– Job opening rate: 5.7%
– Number of job openings: 299,000

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#17. Colorado

– Job opening rate: 5.8%
– Number of job openings: 183,000

Sean Pavone // Shutterstock

#16. Virginia

– Job opening rate: 5.8%
– Number of job openings: 257,000

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#15. Mississippi

– Job opening rate: 5.9%
– Number of job openings: 74,000

Sean Pavone // Shutterstock

#14. Louisiana

– Job opening rate: 5.9%
– Number of job openings: 122,000

Kevin Ruck // Shutterstock

#13. Tennessee

– Job opening rate: 5.9%
– Number of job openings: 209,000

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#12. Wyoming

– Job opening rate: 6.1%
– Number of job openings: 19,000

Sean Pavone // Shutterstock

#11. Oklahoma

– Job opening rate: 6.1%
– Number of job openings: 115,000

Joseph Sohm // Shutterstock

#10. Maine

– Job opening rate: 6.4%
– Number of job openings: 45,000

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#9. Missouri

– Job opening rate: 6.4%
– Number of job openings: 205,000

Sean Pavone // Shutterstock

#8. New Mexico

– Job opening rate: 6.5%
– Number of job openings: 61,000

f11photo // Shutterstock

#7. South Carolina

– Job opening rate: 6.5%
– Number of job openings: 164,000

Mihai_Andritoiu // Shutterstock

#6. Montana

– Job opening rate: 6.6%
– Number of job openings: 37,000

Sean Pavone // Shutterstock

#5. West Virginia

– Job opening rate: 6.8%
– Number of job openings: 53,000

Sean Pavone // Shutterstock

#4. Oregon

– Job opening rate: 6.8%
– Number of job openings: 143,000

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#3. Delaware

– Job opening rate: 6.9%
– Number of job openings: 36,000

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#2. Alaska

– Job opening rate: 7.0%
– Number of job openings: 25,000

Sean Pavone // Shutterstock

#1. Maryland

– Job opening rate: 7.4%
– Number of job openings: 219,000