Job openings dip slightly in June amid signs of ‘turbulence’ in labor market

Job openings declined slightly in June from the month prior amid signs of cooling in the labor market.

New data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics released Tuesday showed that 8.18 million jobs were open at the end of June, a decrease from the 8.23 million job openings in May. May’s figure was revised higher from the 8.14 million open jobs initially reported. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg had expected the report to show 8 million openings in June.

The Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) also showed 5.3 million hires were made during the month, a slight decrease from May’s revised figure of 5.7 million. The hiring rate declined to 3.4% from 3.6% in May.

Also, in Tuesday’s report, the quits rate, a sign of confidence among workers, sat at 2.1% for the second straight month. In June, there were 3.28 million quits, down from 3.4 million in May and the lowest number of quits in a month since November 2020.

 

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