NC Today and What It Means: Job Openings

The NC Today dashboard serves as a monthly update on statewide labor market and economic conditions. But what do the numbers mean? Using the April 2022 update, this blog post continues the prior series and provides context to job openings data.

Author: Chi Wong

Source: LEAD analysis of data from the Conference Board and U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, seasonally adjusted and smoothed  

Job openings reflect businesses’ need for workers. Generally, growth job openings leads to growth in employment and also indicates businesses’ optimism about economic conditions and future demand for goods and services. A decline in job openings can signal greater pessimism about the economy, and a reduction in hiring. The latest job openings – 397,311 in April 2022 -- are at an all-time high, projecting economic optimism at least in the short-term.

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