Job openings unexpectedly rose to 11.2 million in July, according to the monthly JOLTS report released by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The largest increases in job openings were in transportation and recreation, marking a turnaround from months of declines. Openings still outnumbered unemployed workers by about 5.5 million in July.
Over 4.1 million workers left their jobs in July. The wave of quitting signals that workers continue to feel comfortable enough amid record-high openings to switch jobs in pursuit of higher pay or better working conditions. While still historically elevated, quitting has begun to taper down.
Layoffs in July remained low at 1.4 million, despite a recent uptick in unemployment claims, and reports of job cutting from the tech sector.
The jobs market remains remarkably strong overall, with some signs of slowing momentum. The July data follows several months of record-high job openings and quit rates, as employers scrambled to find workers amid labor shortages across many sectors. On Friday, the Department of Labor will report on how many jobs the U.S. economy added in August, the unemployment rate and wage gains for the month.
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