States with the Lowest Job Openings Rate

Compiled by PlainLabor Editorial, Labor Statistics Editorial Team · July 9, 2026

All 51 states and DC ranked by lowest job openings rate, states where the job market is tightest for workers.

What This Ranking Tells Us

States with the lowest job openings rates have fewer available positions relative to their workforce. This can indicate a saturated labor market where competition for jobs is intense, or a stable economy where positions are filled quickly. For job seekers, these markets require more persistence and may offer less negotiating leverage. However, low openings rates sometimes reflect strong employer retention rather than weak demand.

This ranking is computed from the latest available month of U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS), state-level series, harmonized against the BLS state employment denominator so the figures stand on the same statistical footing across all 51 jurisdictions. Rates are seasonally adjusted where BLS publishes adjusted series and reported as raw values where they are not, with no proprietary smoothing or extrapolation applied on top of the official numbers.

Methodology: rows are sorted by the metric named in the column header, ties broken by the most recent month value, then by alphabetical state name. Differences smaller than the JOLTS published relative standard error band of roughly ±0.3 percentage points at the state level should be treated as statistically indistinguishable; the ordering is informative for clusters of states, not for one-place gaps. See our methodology page for the full pipeline, and consult the BLS JOLTS state data issues notice for upstream caveats.

#	State	Openings Rate
1	Hawaii HI	3.1%
2	California CA	3.2%
3	Washington WA	3.2%
4	Massachusetts MA	3.3%
5	Illinois IL	3.4%
6	New Hampshire NH	3.4%
7	Vermont VT	3.4%
8	Colorado CO	3.5%
9	New Mexico NM	3.5%
10	Arizona AZ	3.6%
11	Nevada NV	3.6%
12	New York NY	3.6%
13	Utah UT	3.6%
14	Wyoming WY	3.6%
15	Indiana IN	3.7%
16	Nebraska NE	3.7%
17	New Jersey NJ	3.7%
18	Oregon OR	3.7%
19	Pennsylvania PA	3.7%
20	Connecticut CT	3.8%
21	Wisconsin WI	3.8%
22	Iowa IA	3.9%
23	Tennessee TN	4.0%
24	Texas TX	4.0%
25	Florida FL	4.1%
26	Kentucky KY	4.1%
27	Maine ME	4.1%
28	Montana MT	4.1%
29	South Dakota SD	4.1%
30	Alabama AL	4.2%
31	Delaware DE	4.2%
32	District of Columbia DC	4.3%
33	Maryland MD	4.3%
34	Michigan MI	4.3%
35	Missouri MO	4.3%
36	North Carolina NC	4.3%
37	Rhode Island RI	4.3%
38	Alaska AK	4.5%
39	Arkansas AR	4.5%
40	Kansas KS	4.5%
41	Louisiana LA	4.5%
42	North Dakota ND	4.5%
43	South Carolina SC	4.5%
44	Ohio OH	4.6%
45	Minnesota MN	4.7%
46	Virginia VA	4.7%
47	Mississippi MS	4.8%
48	Idaho ID	5.0%
49	Georgia GA	5.2%
50	Oklahoma OK	5.3%
51	West Virginia WV	5.8%

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS).

Top of the List, State Detail

Quick links to the detail pages for the leading states in this ranking, each page carries the full JOLTS time series, industry breakdown, and year-over-year context.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is a low job openings rate bad for workers?

Not always. A low rate can mean employers successfully retain workers (low turnover), leaving fewer positions to fill. However, if paired with high unemployment, it signals genuine scarcity of opportunity. Check the state's unemployment rate alongside the openings rate for the full picture.

What causes low job openings rates?

Common factors include population decline reducing economic activity, dominant industries with stable workforces (e.g., government), geographic factors limiting business growth, and strong employer retention programs that minimize turnover-driven vacancies.