(Sept 1): US job openings edged higher in July, suggesting demand for workers remains broadly stable at a subdued level.
Available positions rose to 7.27 million from a downwardly revised 7.18 million in June, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data out on Tuesday. The median estimate in a Bloomberg survey of economists called for 7.31 million openings.
The report signals the labour market remains in the low-hire, low-fire environment that has defined much of the past few years. Employers may be cautious about expanding headcount amid geopolitical uncertainty and persistent inflation, but they have also been hesitant to let go of employees.
The increase in openings was led by manufacturing, state and local government excluding education, and healthcare and social assistance. The level of openings in manufacturing was the most since December 2023, while vacancies in construction were the highest since August 2024.
Layoffs, meanwhile, fell to the lowest level since January. The so-called quits rate, which measures the percentage of people voluntarily leaving their jobs each month, edged down to 1.9%.
Initial filings for unemployment insurance remained low in July, indicating a lack of widespread layoff activity despite some high-profile job-cut announcements by companies including Visa Inc, Uber Technologies Inc and Microsoft Corp.
The report also showed there were about 1.1 vacancies per unemployed worker. The ratio, was which at its peak in 2022 was 2-to-1, is often cited by Federal Reserve officials as a measure of the balance between labour supply and demand.
In an Aug 28 speech in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, Fed chairman Kevin Warsh described the labour market as “quite stable” and “consistent with full employment,” arguing relatively low turnover is partly a result of “significant rematching between employers and employees that happened at scale in the post-pandemic environment.”
The government’s monthly jobs report due on Friday will offer additional insights into the state of the labour market. Economists expect it to show the US created 55,000 jobs in August after employers shed 23,000 jobs in July.
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