America’s labor market still had millions of jobs waiting to be filled in June, but opportunities were not evenly spread across industries.
The U.S. recorded 7.4 million job openings in June 2026, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS).
That was down from 7.537 million in May but above the 7.204 million recorded in June 2025.
The numbers suggest a labor market that is cooling from month to month but still has substantial demand for workers.
More importantly, the data shows that some industries are expanding their demand for workers while others are pulling back.
- The U.S. had 7.36 million job openings in June 2026.
- Trade, transportation, and utilities led with 1.33 million openings.
- Construction openings rose sharply, while healthcare and hospitality declined.
The largest pool of openings was in trade, transportation and utilities, with 1.33 million positions available in June.
Retail trade accounted for 774,000 of those openings, while transportation, warehousing and utilities had another 392,000. Wholesale trade contributed 165,000.
The broader category was also up significantly from 1.1 million openings in June 2025, suggesting that demand across businesses involved in moving and selling goods remains relatively strong.
Professional and business services followed with 1.3 million openings, although that was down from 1.4 million in May.
Healthcare also remained one of America’s biggest sources of available work. Healthcare and social assistance had 1.4 million openings in June.
Despite its size, however, the figure was below the 1.5 million recorded in May.
Dataset
| Industries | 2026(p) |
|---|---|
| Total | 7,359 |
| Total private | 6,536 |
| Private education and health services | 1,475 |
| Health care and social assistance | 1,347 |
| Trade, transportation, and utilities | 1,330 |
| Professional and business services | 1,304 |
| Leisure and hospitality | 830 |
| Retail trade | 774 |
| Accommodation and food services | 684 |
| Manufacturing | 481 |
| Financial activities | 419 |
| Transportation, warehousing, and utilities | 392 |
| Durable goods | 345 |
| Construction | 305 |
| Finance and insurance | 303 |
| Other services | 281 |
| Wholesale trade | 165 |
| Arts, entertainment, and recreation | 145 |
| Nondurable goods | 136 |
| Private educational services | 128 |
| Real estate and rental and leasing | 117 |
| Information | 90 |
| Mining and logging | 20 |