US employers in the information industry had 123,000 job openings at the end of August, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported on 29 September. The same release puts July at 78,000 [1].
The BLS does not count that as a rise. Its release says job openings "changed little in all industries" in August [1].
The bureau generally tests changes at the 90% confidence level [2].
July's figure is itself new. It was first published on 1 September as 96,000 [5], and has been revised down to 78,000 [1].
A year earlier, in August 2025, the industry had 141,000 openings [1].
What it measures
Positions open on the last business day of the month, where work could start within 30 days and the employer is actively recruiting from outside [2].
The information industry covers publishing, including software publishing; film and sound recording; broadcasting; telecoms; and web search, data processing and information services [3].
The survey asks a sample of about 21,000 businesses and government offices across the US [2].
Hires in the industry were 44,000 in August, against 62,000 in July and 69,000 in August 2025. The BLS says hires, too, changed little in all industries [1].
Layoffs and discharges in the industry were 28,000, against 38,000 in July [1].
What it does not tell you
Whether openings really rose. The BLS's release does not report the change from July as a change [1].
How final it is. August's figures are preliminary, and July's moved by 18,000 on revision [1][5].
Which roles were open. The survey counts openings by industry, not by job [2].
Fit: many software and IT jobs are in other industries, such as computer systems design, which the BLS counts in professional and business services [4].
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