U.S. job openings were down to 7.2 million in July, the Associated Press reports, signaling a cooling labor market.
Job openings fell from 7.4 million in June and came in below economists’ forecasts, the Labor Department said Wednesday.
Health care and social assistance companies cut openings by 181,000 and retailers by 110,000.
Layoffs rose slightly, according to the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey. The number of Americans quitting their jobs was unchanged from June at 3.2 million.
While job openings remain at healthy levels, they have fallen steadily since a March 2022 peak of 12.1 million as the U.S. economy rebounded from COVID-19 lockdowns.
The labor market has lost momentum this year, partially as a result of recent years’ 11 interest rate hikes by the Federal Reserve as it sought to fight inflation, and partially due to the effects of President Donald Trump’s global trade wars.
