The latest JOLTS report from the US Labor Department indicates that layoffs across the country slipped but remained at the second highest level on record even as job openings and hirings declined during April. Layoffs and discharges fell by 3.8 million to touch 7.7 million in the month of April, significantly higher than the average 1.8 million seen before the coronavirus pandemic.

The rate of layoffs and discharges improved from the highest level seen in March at 7.6% to 5.9% in April. The high number of layoffs signal more trouble for the US economy as it reopens and tries to recover in the aftermath of the pandemic.

Meanwhile, hiring fell by 1.6 million to 3.5 million in April, a record low reading – from an average of 5.9 million per month prior to the pandemic. The hiring rate also declined from 3.4% in March to 2.7% during April.

Encouraging signs were seen in the latest employment report for May, which showed that the economy managed to add around 2.5 million jobs in May as states resumed economic activity. However, it will take longer for all the workers laid off to find work again and get the economy back to pre-pandemic levels of growth.