States with the most job openings in November

Published 4:00 pm Tuesday, December 19, 2023

By Dom DiFurio, Data Work By Paxtyn Merten

States with the most job openings in November

Job openings across the U.S. remained relatively unchanged in November, the latest Bureau of Labor Statistics data shows.

At the end of the month, there were about 8.8 million open jobs nationwide. Though job openings are down from peaks in early 2022, they remain much higher than in any previous decade in recent history. Compared to November 2019, for example, the most recent monthly job openings were up by about 1.9 million.

The national job openings rate was 5.3% in November—meaning around 5 in 100 jobs in the economy are unfilled. Industries such as health care, hospitality, and professional/business services are experiencing even higher job-opening rates as they struggle to recruit and retain employees. Health care employees face rampant burnout, while hospitality employees have been in short supply after the Great Resignation drove many to pursue higher-paying employment opportunities. Many companies with job openings report having few or no qualified applicants for the positions.

Labor market trends vary widely by locale, with job-opening rates ranging from 4.1% to 7.6% in various states. To get a more complete view, Stacker used Bureau of Labor Statistics data to rank states by their job opening rates in November, using the number of job openings as a tiebreaker when needed. BLS calculates job opening rates as the number of job openings per total jobs—filled or open—in a state. November estimates are preliminary.

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#51. California

– Job opening rate: 4.1%
– Number of job openings: 775,000

Canva

#50. Hawaii

– Job opening rate: 4.5%
– Number of job openings: 30,000

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#49. Washington DC

– Job opening rate: 4.5%
– Number of job openings: 37,000

Agnieszka Gaul // Shutterstock

#48. Washington

– Job opening rate: 4.5%
– Number of job openings: 172,000

Wangkun Jia // Shutterstock

#47. New York

– Job opening rate: 4.5%
– Number of job openings: 454,000

Sean Pavone // Shutterstock

#46. Connecticut

– Job opening rate: 4.8%
– Number of job openings: 85,000

Sean Pavone // Shutterstock

#45. Utah

– Job opening rate: 4.8%
– Number of job openings: 87,000

Sean Pavone // Shutterstock

#44. Indiana

– Job opening rate: 4.8%
– Number of job openings: 165,000

Mihai_Andritoiu // Shutterstock

#43. New Jersey

– Job opening rate: 4.8%
– Number of job openings: 219,000

Sean Pavone // Shutterstock

#42. New Hampshire

– Job opening rate: 5.1%
– Number of job openings: 38,000

Sean Pavone // Shutterstock

#41. Oregon

– Job opening rate: 5.1%
– Number of job openings: 108,000

Kevin Ruck // Shutterstock

#40. Alabama

– Job opening rate: 5.1%
– Number of job openings: 117,000

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#39. Florida

– Job opening rate: 5.1%
– Number of job openings: 524,000

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#38. Iowa

– Job opening rate: 5.2%
– Number of job openings: 88,000

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#37. Kentucky

– Job opening rate: 5.2%
– Number of job openings: 112,000

Real Window Creative // Shutterstock