US Job Postings Hold at 102.4 as 3.8% CPI Outruns 2.3% Wage Growth

1 articles · Updated · Indeed Hiring Lab · May 14

US labor demand is stabilizing near pre-pandemic levels rather than worsening, with Indeed’s job postings index at 102.4 in late April, up 0.3% on the month but still down 3.4% from a year earlier.
Inflation has become the bigger pressure point: CPI accelerated to 3.8% as the Iran conflict lifted prices, while posted wage growth slowed to 2.3%, eroding households’ real purchasing power.
The broader labor market still looks cool but not collapsing, with unemployment at 4.3%, openings per unemployed worker at 0.9, quits subdued at 2.0%, and layoffs near historic lows in a low-hire, low-fire pattern.
Sector data show a split beneath that steady surface: healthcare and manufacturing postings remain above pre-pandemic levels, while software development is still about 30% below baseline even as AI-linked software roles rose 14% year over year.
Indeed said the main risk now is spillover from the Iran conflict into confidence, investment and Fed policy, with inflation making rate cuts less likely even as the labor market finds a weaker new normal.

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