Job openings in the US declined to 11.4m in April, in line with the market estimate, according to figures by the Labour Department released Wednesday. The figure is a 455,000 decline from the approximately 11.8m in March, while the rate of job openings stood at 7pc last month. The largest decreases in openings were in health care with 266,000, followed by retail at 162,000, the agency said in a statement. The number of hires and its rate saw little change at 6.6m and 4.4pc, respectively. Total separations, which include employees leaving, layoffs and discharges, was also steady at 6m and 4pc, respectively. Around 4.4m people left jobs in April, according to the figures. The survey measures job vacancies by collecting data from employers about employment, job openings, hiring and separations.