US job openings fall as demand for workers weakens

America’s employers posted fewer job openings in July than they had the previous month, a sign that hiring could further cool in the coming months WASHINGTON — America’s employers posted fewer job openings in July than they had the previous month, a sign that hiring could further cool in the coming months. The Labor Department reported Wednesday that there were 7.7 million open jobs in July, down from 7.9 million in June and the fewest since January 2021. Layoffs rose from 1.56 million to 1.76 million, the most since March 2023, though that level of job cuts is roughly consistent with pre-pandemic levels, when the unemployment rate was historically low. Layoffs have been unusually low since the economy’s rapid recovery from the pandemic recession, with many employers intent on holding onto their workers. On the positive side, total hiring rose in July, to 5.5 million, after it had fallen to a four-year low of 5.2 million in June. Still, quits remain far below the peak of 4.5 million reached in 2022, when many workers shifted jobs as the economy accelerated out of the pandemic recession. Stephen Stanley, an economist at Santander, noted that July’s job openings are still about 7% above 2019 levels, when hiring was healthy. Last week, the government estimated that the economy expanded at a healthy 3% annual rate in the April-June quarter. In July, job openings fell sharply in health care and state and local government and also dropped in warehousing and transportation. Even as openings have fallen for the past two years, there are still roughly 1.1 job openings for every unemployed person, Wednesday’s report showed. That reflects the economy’s continuing need for workers and marks a reversal from before the pandemic, when there were always more unemployed people than available jobs. So far, most employers are largely holding onto their workers, rather than imposing layoffs, even though they have been slower to add jobs than they were earlier this year. On Friday, the week’s highest-profile economic report — the monthly jobs data — will be released. The consensus estimate of economists is that employers added 163,000 jobs in August and that the unemployment rate ticked down from 4.3% to 4.2%. Last month, the government reported that job gains slowed in July to just 114,000 — far fewer than expected and that the second-smallest total in 3 1/2 years — and the unemployment rate rose for a fourth straight month. Late last month, Fed Chair Jerome Powell underscored the central bank’s increasing focus on the job market, with inflations steadily fading. In a speech at an annual economic symposium in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, Powell said that hiring has “cooled considerably” and that the Fed does not “seek or welcome further cooling” in the job market. – This Summarize was created by Neural News AI (V1). Source: https://abcnews.go.com/Business/wireStory/us-job-openings-fall-demand-workers-weakens-113380439