U.S. Job Openings Slip to Five-Month Low of 7.08 Million as Layoffs Stay Low

U.S. job openings fell to 7.079 million in August from an upwardly revised 7.335 million in July, the lowest level in five months, according to the Labor Department's JOLTS report. The 256,000 drop came in below the 7.225 million economists had forecast, and the job-openings rate slipped to 4.3% from 4.4%. The declines were broad-based, spanning professional and business services, education and manufacturing, while leisure and hospitality and retail were bright spots.

The rest of the report pointed to a labor market that is cooling rather than cracking. Hiring edged up by 46,000 to 5.192 million, lifting the hires rate to 3.3% from 3.2%, and quits were little changed at 3.066 million. Layoffs and discharges fell by 61,000 to 1.641 million, a layoffs rate of 1.0%, down from 1.1%. Economists described historically low layoffs as the main source of stability, with employers reluctant either to cut staff or to ramp up hiring.

That low-hire, low-fire pattern has a cost for people already out of work: Bloomberg reported that it is taking longer for the unemployed to find a job even as the economy grows. Fewer openings with steady hiring leaves less slack for job seekers, even while existing workers stay put.

The next read is the September payrolls report, where economists expect a gain of about 90,000 after August's 162,000, with unemployment seen at 4.1%. A softer openings trend alongside a slower payroll print would feed the rate debate, given that inflation remains elevated; a stable layoff rate would support the view that the market is rebalancing rather than deteriorating.