The May 2024 Jobs Report & April 2024 JOLTS: The Current U.S. Employment Situation

The May 2024 jobs report from the BLS showed total nonfarm payroll employment increasing by 272,000, making a significant jump from April’s jobs numbers and outperforming economists’ expectations of 190,000. The unemployment rate inched up to 4% and the number of unemployed persons also rose slightly to 6.6 million.

The April JOLTS report, released Tuesday, showed the number of job openings changed little at 8.1 million but continued the downward trend we’ve seen in the past few months and was the lowest amount reported since Feb. 2021. Job openings decreased in healthcare and social assistance by 204,000 and in state and local government education by 59,000. Private educational services job openings increased by 50,000.

The JOLTS also showed hires and total separations remaining basically flat at 5.6 million and 5.4 million, respectively, compared to March 2024. Of note, hires increased by 52,000 and separations increased by 49,000 in the durable goods manufacturing sector.

Here are additional takeaways from the U.S. jobs numbers:

• Average hourly earnings increased by 0.4% to $34.91.
• The ratio of job openings to unemployed workers in April returned to pre-pandemic levels.
• The quits rate has remained flat since November 2023, indicating that workers are still within a “Big Stay” era.

What industries are hiring now? Aside from information employment, which remained flat compared to last month, every other sector we track saw gains in employment. Professional and business services rebounded significantly and health care and social assistance, leisure and hospitality, and government all reported substantial increases.

According to the latest U.S. jobs data, hiring remains hot. Create your free account today to access our tools for finding your next great employee or next great job.