Job Market Defies Recession Fears with Strong Numbers and Surprising Increase in Openings.

Job openings increased to 10.1 million in April, up from 9.6 million in March, and layoffs dipped to 1.6 million, down from 1.8 million in March, indicating a strong job market with no major indicators of a recession. However, workers have less bargaining power than a year ago, and job openings are down by 16% from a peak in March 2022. Despite this, there are still opportunities in some pockets of the labor market, particularly in leisure and hospitality roles, and the gap between job openings and people to fill them has closed by 24% in the last year.