U.S. Job Openings and Hiring Fell in February

By Jessica Coacci

U.S. job openings slipped in February and hiring fell to its lowest level since April 2020, the Labor Department's monthly job openings and labor turnover survey showed.

Available positions fell to 6.9 million in February, down from an upwardly revised 7.2 million in January. The rate of job openings was 4.2% in February from 4.4% in January.

Hiring fell to its lowest rate since April 2020, with about 4.8 million workers finding new roles in February. The hires rate decreased over the month to 3.1% compared with 3.4% in January.

The number of layoffs was unchanged at 1.7 million. The layoff rate was 1.1% in February, compared with 1% in January.

The quit rate-or workers leaving their jobs voluntarily, was 1.9% in February, compared with 2% in January. The quits rate can serve as a measure of workers' willingness or ability to leave their job. Quits increased in nondurable goods manufacturing.

The JOLTS report comes before Friday's employment report for March released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. While job openings remain off their highs after the pandemic, low jobless claims readings have reinforced a low-hire, low-fire jobs environment.

Write to Jessica Coacci at jessica.coacci@wsj.com.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

March 31, 2026 10:58 ET (14:58 GMT)