Job openings in the United States fell in March as President Donald Trump’s trade wars clouded the economic outlook.
U.S. employers posted 7.2 million vacancies in March, down from 7.5 million in February and 8.1 million in March 2024, the Labor Department reported Tuesday. It was the fewest number of openings since September and below the 7.5 million that economists had forecast.
But the department’s Job Openings and Labor Turnover Summary also showed that the number of Americans quitting their jobs—a sign of confidence in the economy—rose modestly. And layoffs fell to the lowest level since June.
Openings remain high by historical standards but have fallen steadily since peaking at 12.1 million in March 2022 when the economy was still bouncing back from COVID-19.
