Job openings declined to a roughly three-year low in April, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.SDI Productions | E+ | Getty Images"Don't get discouraged; there are opportunities out there," she added. "This is still a strong labor market."National job openings in April fell to their lowest level in more than three years, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Meanwhile, there were about 1.2 job openings per unemployed worker in April, down from a ratio of 2:1 about two years ago.April's ratio is back to its pre-pandemic level, Jason Furman, an economics professor at Harvard University and former chair of the White House Council of Economic Advisers,, a gauge of workers' sentiment about their job prospects, according to BLS data. Both were unchanged in April, though.
The U.S. Federal Reserve raised borrowing costs to pump the brakes on the economy and labor market, ultimately to throttle back inflation. The labor market that directly preceded the Covid-19 pandemic is generally lauded by economists as a historically strong one for workers, characterized by low unemployment, solid wage growth and one of relatively good job opportunities.— meaning their buying power has increased — for the past year.