Job openings in the U.S. eased slightly from their record March level announced in April, but remained above 11 million, the Labor Department reported on Wednesday.

The 11.4 million was just shy of March’s 11.5 million record, meaning that there are nearly two jobs for every available worker, forcing companies to pay up or offer more benefits to snag jobseekers.

Jobs were especially plentiful in transportation, warehousing and utilities, where employers added 97,000 openings, and in manufacturing with 120,000 new jobs. The largest decreases in openings came in health care and social work, which saw 266,000 fewer jobs, and retail which fell by 162,000.The quits rate, which measures the number of people leaving their jobs, was largely unchanged.

The job market continues to be a pillar of strength in the economy, although it is losing some of the steam it had earlier in the year and in 2021.

On Friday, the Labor Department will issue its monthly jobs report with expectations for a gain of 325,000 following April’s increase of 428,000.

“We have confidence that the May jobs report will again show gains, though these should be lackluster compared with April,” said Dave Gilbertson, vice president at workforce management firm UKG.

“This is likely a sign we are in the early stages of a soft landing in the labor market, consistent with the Federal Reserve’s goal of moderating job availability as a curb to inflation,” he added.

“Zooming in on shift levels by industry, retail workforce activity has declined three months in a row following sustained growth in 2021, as retailers adjust their staffing levels in response to a more complex operating environment,” Gilbertson said. “In healthcare, we saw the segment continue its long-term trend of underperforming, dropping 2.2% from April to May.”