3 in 10 U.S. Job Openings Have Disappeared Since Early March

Key Findings

• 3 in 10 U.S. job openings have disappeared since the beginning of March. Job openings dropped another 3.4 percent week-over-week on May 25 from the week prior, as the Memorial Day holiday slowed hiring.
• Some of the hardest-hit industries are seeing hiring resume as states relax restrictions on non-essential businesses. Job openings grew for restaurants & bars (+5.7 percent month-over-month), travel & tourism (+6.8 percent), and private security (+7.7 percent).
• Most major metropolitan areas continue to see job openings decline. Seattle is one notable exception where the earlier and smaller COVID-19 outbreak combined with increased hiring from tech giants like Amazon have spurred a faster turnaround in hiring.
• What to expect in the May Jobs Report? This Friday’s May jobs report is likely to show unemployment spiking into the high teens, if not over 20 percent. If job openings stay depressed as the crisis continues, even rapid rehiring of furloughed workers may not be enough to return the economy to pre-crisis levels and make up for lost growth.

As May comes to a close, the labor market continues to show the accumulating damage that the coronavirus crisis has inflicted. Glassdoor's latest Job Market Report shows that as of May 25, job openings have dropped to 4.3 million—a 29.7 percent decline since the start of March. Job openings on Glassdoor dropped 3.4 percent last week after several weeks of softening declines. Last week's decline is most likely due to the Memorial Day holiday,  which typically results in a temporary drop in hiring. While the holiday effect is a temporary one, it still delays positive signs of a market rebound that many economists are waiting to see in the labor market. If job openings rebound in the coming weeks, it would raise confidence that hiring demand has stabilized and that the labor market is entering a new phase, opening up the possibility of the recovery starting.

 

Based on an analysis of employer job posting behavior on Glassdoor, 7 in 10 employers have reduced their job openings since the beginning of March with 28% of employers pulling down all job openings. 14 percent have increased job openings since the beginning of March, indicating that pockets of growing labor demand still exist in the economy.

Change in Job Openings by Industry

• In-person services like restaurants & bars (+5.7 percent month-over-month), private security (+7.7 percent) and beauty & fitness (+3.1 percent) saw the largest increases in job openings. As states begin to relax restrictions on non-essential businesses, these industries are reopening and hiring to replace lost workers.
• Job openings in travel & tourism (+6.8 percent) are also increasing; however, the industry is still well below pre-crisis levels, with job openings down 79.5 percent year-over-year. While growth in job openings is encouraging, it will still take time for hard-hit industries to fully recover.
• Many companies in white-collar industries—information technology (-18.2 percent), media & publishing (-14.9 percent) and accounting & legal (-11.2 percent)—have continued to cut job openings. For these industries, the decline in hiring has more to do with prolonged uncertainty and declining demand than stay-at-home orders.
• Government (-9.7 percent) and education & schools (-8.9 percent) saw job openings fall as states are squeezed between falling tax revenues and increased spending. Similar funding shortfalls during the Great Recession cut state and local workforces and early evidence suggests the same trend may be occurring today.

Industries with the Largest Change in Job Openings

Largest Increase		Largest Decrease
Industry	MoM %	Industry	MoM %
Private Security	7.7%	Information Technology	-18.2%
Consumer Services	7.1%	Aerospace & Defense	-16.9%
Travel & Tourism	6.8%	Media & Publishing	-14.9%
Restaurants & Bars	5.7%	Arts & Entertainment	-13.0%
Beauty & Fitness	3.1%	Accounting & Legal	-11.2%

Source: Glassdoor Job Market Report, May 2020

For more detailed data on job openings trends by industry and industry group, see our appendix below.

Change in Job Openings by Metro

Even as many states and cities relax stay-at-home orders and restrictions on non-essential business, most major metro areas have continued to see declines in job openings.

• Across the ten major metro areas we track, only Seattle (+8.1 percent) has seen job openings rebound over the last month. One of the first American cities to have a major outbreak, Seattle appears to be rebounding quicker than other metros. Seattle is also home to Amazon, which rapidly ramped up hiring to accommodate demand for e-commerce services.
• Major East Coast hubs like New York City (-8.4 percent), Boston (-8.2 percent) and Washington, D.C. (-6 percent) have seen job openings decline over the last month as they continue to combat the major outbreaks in their cities.

Change in Job Openings for Ten Major Metro Areas

Metro	MoM %
Seattle, WA	8.1%
Houston, TX	-2.3%
Atlanta, GA	-4.7%
Philadelphia, PA	-4.9%
San Francisco, CA	-5.0%
Chicago, IL	-5.5%
Los Angeles, CA	-5.9%
Washington, DC	-6.0%
Boston, MA	-8.2%
New York City, NY	-8.4%

Source: Glassdoor Job Market Report, May 2020

For more detailed data on job openings trends by metro and state, see our appendix below.

Conclusion

This Friday, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) will release the May Jobs Report, providing the second official reading on the labor market impacts of the coronavirus crisis. While May's report will not show as dramatic a change as April's, it is still likely to show a worsening labor market. Based on the sustained levels of unemployment insurance claims we’ve seen in May, the unemployment rate is widely expected to spike into the high teens, if not over 20 percent. At this point, economists are watching closely for any sign that the labor market is beginning to recover amid the pandemic. If job openings stay depressed, it could signal a sluggish recovery in June and beyond. Because of the unusual depth of this recession, even if the labor market sees a moderately rapid pace of recovery, it’ll still take time to fully return to pre-crisis levels and even longer to make up for lost growth.

Methodology

The data for the selected dates is generated based on the methodology used in Glassdoor’s monthly Job Market Report, which provides a real-time view of hiring trends and wage growth across the U.S. based on millions of online jobs and salaries on Glassdoor. The data represents a snapshot of the number of job openings available on Glassdoor on the highlighted dates. Week-over-week, month-over-month and year-over-year comparisons are based on the Mondays from the comparable period. Except where otherwise noted, no additional smoothing, averaging or seasonal adjustment is performed. Because no smoothing or averaging takes place, the data may not be directly comparable to Glassdoor's monthly Job Market Report.

Appendix

Each table may not sum up to total. For example, industry data may be missing for some employers.

Table A: Change in Job Openings by Industry

	Job Openings				Percent Change
	May 25, 2020	May 18, 2020	Apr 27, 2020	May 27, 2019
Category	Current Week	Last Week	Last Month	Last Year	Week-over-Week	Month-over-Month	Year-over-Year
Total	4,284,701	4,433,741	4,485,722	5,855,951	-3.4%	-4.5%	-26.8%
Accounting & Legal	30,361	31,254	34,195	35,751	-2.9%	-11.2%	-15.1%
Aerospace & Defense	56,443	57,989	67,958	86,942	-2.7%	-16.9%	-35.1%
Architecture & Civil Engineering	26,854	27,698	28,316	42,651	-3.0%	-5.2%	-37.0%
Arts & Entertainment	22,724	23,362	26,119	56,998	-2.7%	-13.0%	-60.1%
Automotive	59,902	63,711	65,427	97,158	-6.0%	-8.4%	-38.3%
Banking & Financial Services	83,575	87,579	91,299	139,077	-4.6%	-8.5%	-39.9%
Beauty & Fitness	51,961	51,534	50,381	81,444	0.8%	3.1%	-36.2%
Biotech & Pharmaceuticals	58,548	61,928	63,076	71,273	-5.5%	-7.2%	-17.9%
Business Services	6,962	7,393	7,053	12,858	-5.8%	-1.3%	-45.9%
Computer Software & Hardware	103,184	105,322	110,421	152,078	-2.0%	-6.6%	-32.2%
Construction	52,624	53,864	51,490	72,750	-2.3%	2.2%	-27.7%
Consulting	53,684	55,276	58,195	74,094	-2.9%	-7.8%	-27.5%
Consumer Electronics	6,743	6,745	7,162	13,105	0.0%	-5.9%	-48.5%
Consumer Services	10,907	19,490	10,183	14,389	-44.0%	7.1%	-24.2%
Education & Schools	159,393	171,111	174,935	243,341	-6.8%	-8.9%	-34.5%
Energy & Utilities	29,832	29,595	29,248	50,706	0.8%	2.0%	-41.2%
Facilities	34,729	36,337	35,235	45,484	-4.4%	-1.4%	-23.6%
Farming & Agriculture	8,570	8,890	8,821	9,570	-3.6%	-2.8%	-10.4%
Government	111,830	114,833	123,776	130,017	-2.6%	-9.7%	-14.0%
Health Care & Hospitals	581,345	598,875	630,447	846,980	-2.9%	-7.8%	-31.4%
Information Technology	107,133	115,180	130,978	168,220	-7.0%	-18.2%	-36.3%
Insurance	54,882	56,090	56,850	77,306	-2.2%	-3.5%	-29.0%
Internet & Tech	122,071	153,959	125,464	68,376	-20.7%	-2.7%	78.5%
Manufacturing	140,024	143,543	149,767	223,746	-2.5%	-6.5%	-37.4%
Marketing & Advertising	44,345	45,649	44,534	59,207	-2.9%	-0.4%	-25.1%
Media & Publishing	10,725	11,694	12,602	27,975	-8.3%	-14.9%	-61.7%
Nonprofit	53,477	56,274	57,302	72,766	-5.0%	-6.7%	-26.5%
Private Security	17,852	18,112	16,569	23,365	-1.4%	7.7%	-23.6%
Real Estate	39,483	40,979	40,030	48,227	-3.7%	-1.4%	-18.1%
Recruiting & Staffing	342,220	368,363	408,807	440,122	-7.1%	-16.3%	-22.2%
Restaurants & Bars	457,481	460,367	432,746	520,740	-0.6%	5.7%	-12.1%
Retail	330,807	322,111	337,463	463,174	2.7%	-2.0%	-28.6%
Supermarkets	83,444	86,796	85,137	89,427	-3.9%	-2.0%	-6.7%
Telecommunications	22,715	23,631	24,311	39,172	-3.9%	-6.6%	-42.0%
Transportation & Logistics	202,532	204,334	205,886	357,991	-0.9%	-1.6%	-43.4%
Travel & Tourism	20,084	20,276	18,805	98,149	-0.9%	6.8%	-79.5%
Wholesale	16,925	16,807	16,755	30,523	0.7%	1.0%	-44.6%

Source: Glassdoor Job Market Report, May 2020

Table B: Change in Job Openings by Industry Group

	Job Openings				Percent Change
	May 25, 2020	May 18, 2020	Apr 27, 2020	May 27, 2019
Category	Current Week	Last Week	Last Month	Last Year	Week-over-Week	Month-over-Month	Year-over-Year
Total	4,284,701	4,433,741	4,485,722	5,855,951	-3.4%	-4.5%	-26.8%
Business Services	153,204	157,684	160,546	205,275	-2.8%	-4.6%	-25.4%
Construction & Real Estate Services	153,690	158,878	155,071	209,112	-3.3%	-0.9%	-26.5%
Consumer Services	199,018	213,698	207,828	415,285	-6.9%	-4.2%	-52.1%
Finance & Insurance	138,457	143,669	148,149	216,383	-3.6%	-6.5%	-36.0%
Food Services	457,481	460,367	432,746	520,740	-0.6%	5.7%	-12.1%
Health Care	639,893	660,803	693,523	918,253	-3.2%	-7.7%	-30.3%
Production	234,869	240,017	255,794	370,964	-2.1%	-8.2%	-36.7%
Public Services	324,700	342,218	356,013	446,124	-5.1%	-8.8%	-27.2%
Retail	420,994	415,652	429,762	565,706	1.3%	-2.0%	-25.6%
Tech	332,388	374,461	366,863	388,674	-11.2%	-9.4%	-14.5%
Trade & Transportation	219,457	221,141	222,641	388,514	-0.8%	-1.4%	-43.5%

Source: Glassdoor Job Market Report, May 2020

Table C: Change in Job Openings by State

	Job Openings				Percent Change
	May 25, 2020	May 18, 2020	Apr 27, 2020	May 27, 2019
Category	Current Week	Last Week	Last Month	Last Year	Week-over-Week	Month-over-Month	Year-over-Year
Total	4,284,701	4,433,741	4,485,722	5,855,951	-3.4%	-4.5%	-26.8%
Remote	8,084	8,342	8,210	8,550	-3.1%	-1.5%	-5.5%
AK	8,999	9,343	9,395	11,694	-3.7%	-4.2%	-23.0%
AL	59,044	60,191	60,017	77,218	-1.9%	-1.6%	-23.5%
AR	31,314	32,196	32,662	39,893	-2.7%	-4.1%	-21.5%
AZ	89,949	91,539	90,018	122,849	-1.7%	-0.1%	-26.8%
CA	459,194	478,597	483,074	649,644	-4.1%	-4.9%	-29.3%
CO	92,836	94,561	94,939	129,372	-1.8%	-2.2%	-28.2%
CT	50,814	51,129	53,197	65,770	-0.6%	-4.5%	-22.7%
DC	33,046	34,233	35,631	43,620	-3.5%	-7.3%	-24.2%
DE	15,452	15,726	16,584	18,851	-1.7%	-6.8%	-18.0%
FL	223,429	228,259	229,268	311,934	-2.1%	-2.5%	-28.4%
GA	135,131	138,802	142,910	198,025	-2.6%	-5.4%	-31.8%
HI	11,874	12,369	12,663	19,590	-4.0%	-6.2%	-39.4%
IA	43,667	45,417	45,077	60,549	-3.9%	-3.1%	-27.9%
ID	18,153	18,250	17,513	21,558	-0.5%	3.7%	-15.8%
IL	172,504	177,676	182,606	253,377	-2.9%	-5.5%	-31.9%
IN	93,519	95,888	96,910	119,931	-2.5%	-3.5%	-22.0%
KS	39,398	40,431	41,315	51,813	-2.6%	-4.6%	-24.0%
KY	58,584	60,089	60,270	71,497	-2.5%	-2.8%	-18.1%
LA	47,495	48,606	48,962	62,326	-2.3%	-3.0%	-23.8%
MA	148,241	168,471	163,934	189,700	-12.0%	-9.6%	-21.9%
MD	101,842	106,185	107,759	131,486	-4.1%	-5.5%	-22.5%
ME	20,938	21,579	21,652	25,022	-3.0%	-3.3%	-16.3%
MI	112,247	116,834	118,512	148,757	-3.9%	-5.3%	-24.5%
MN	78,995	78,975	81,104	111,253	0.0%	-2.6%	-29.0%
MO	79,186	80,394	83,117	109,491	-1.5%	-4.7%	-27.7%
MS	29,750	30,348	31,178	35,571	-2.0%	-4.6%	-16.4%
MT	12,907	12,980	12,563	16,765	-0.6%	2.7%	-23.0%
NC	137,961	146,852	150,838	206,666	-6.1%	-8.5%	-33.2%
ND	11,345	11,860	12,090	15,044	-4.3%	-6.2%	-24.6%
NE	26,202	26,846	26,583	31,804	-2.4%	-1.4%	-17.6%
NH	25,342	29,164	25,037	32,131	-13.1%	1.2%	-21.1%
NJ	126,753	138,007	137,083	146,963	-8.2%	-7.5%	-13.8%
NM	31,431	32,274	31,628	38,939	-2.6%	-0.6%	-19.3%
NV	33,034	33,587	33,752	49,235	-1.6%	-2.1%	-32.9%
NY	210,426	218,739	227,125	298,798	-3.8%	-7.4%	-29.6%
OH	150,269	152,718	156,965	205,603	-1.6%	-4.3%	-26.9%
OK	43,135	43,980	44,046	57,214	-1.9%	-2.1%	-24.6%
OR	48,370	49,199	49,972	70,158	-1.7%	-3.2%	-31.1%
PA	191,194	198,487	204,413	231,560	-3.7%	-6.5%	-17.4%
RI	14,879	15,118	16,685	18,807	-1.6%	-10.8%	-20.9%
SC	67,778	69,711	69,324	89,455	-2.8%	-2.2%	-24.2%
SD	13,168	13,275	13,585	15,155	-0.8%	-3.1%	-13.1%
TN	86,396	88,848	90,645	123,725	-2.8%	-4.7%	-30.2%
TX	320,508	331,521	331,061	458,635	-3.3%	-3.2%	-30.1%
UT	37,212	38,004	38,101	51,235	-2.1%	-2.3%	-27.4%
VA	145,875	150,621	152,872	194,076	-3.2%	-4.6%	-24.8%
VT	9,520	9,826	10,623	12,738	-3.1%	-10.4%	-25.3%
WA	119,261	118,152	113,133	149,858	0.9%	5.4%	-20.4%
WI	78,719	80,106	84,890	109,474	-1.7%	-7.3%	-28.1%
WV	27,084	27,168	28,140	29,197	-0.3%	-3.8%	-7.2%
WY	9,216	9,443	10,346	11,665	-2.4%	-10.9%	-21.0%

Source: Glassdoor Job Market Report, May 2020

Table D: Change in Job Openings for Select Metropolitan Areas

	Job Openings				Percent Change
	May 25, 2020	May 18, 2020	Apr 27, 2020	May 27, 2019
Category	Current Week	Last Week	Last Month	Last Year	Week-over-Week	Month-over-Month	Year-over-Year
Total	4,284,701	4,433,741	4,485,722	5,855,951	-3.4%	-4.5%	-26.8%
Atlanta, GA	80,735	82,530	84,727	126,224	-2.2%	-4.7%	-36.0%
Boston, MA	119,984	138,016	130,686	154,890	-13.1%	-8.2%	-22.5%
Chicago, IL	134,897	138,829	142,729	199,536	-2.8%	-5.5%	-32.4%
Houston, TX	66,147	67,313	67,678	95,058	-1.7%	-2.3%	-30.4%
Los Angeles, CA	143,573	149,578	152,599	212,136	-4.0%	-5.9%	-32.3%
New York City, NY	228,306	245,763	249,291	302,135	-7.1%	-8.4%	-24.4%
Philadelphia, PA	84,014	86,828	88,327	111,679	-3.2%	-4.9%	-24.8%
San Francisco, CA	100,802	105,763	106,135	144,203	-4.7%	-5.0%	-30.1%
Seattle, WA	88,362	86,572	81,740	112,386	2.1%	8.1%	-21.4%
Washington, DC	137,975	143,733	146,778	182,664	-4.0%	-6.0%	-24.5%

Source: Glassdoor Job Market Report, May 2020

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