U.S. Job Openings Little Changed at 7.3 Million in July as Hiring Remains Soft

U.S. job openings were little changed at 7.3 million in July, while the estimate for hires moved down to 5.1 million, reinforcing a picture of employers maintaining demand for workers without a comparable pickup in actual hiring. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported 7.271 million openings on the last business day of July, up 89,000 from a revised 7.182 million in June, and said the openings rate was little changed at 4.4%.

Hiring was softer in the same report. The estimated number of hires declined by 278,000 to 5.054 million from 5.332 million in June, and the hiring rate moved to 3.2% from 3.4%. BLS nevertheless classified the overall monthly change in hires as little changed, an important qualification because JOLTS estimates are based on a survey and month-to-month moves are not all statistically significant.

The Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey release, published September 1, also showed that openings were slightly above their July 2025 level of 7.089 million, while hires were below the 5.225 million recorded a year earlier. Openings and hires measure different things: vacancies are counted on the last business day of the month, while hires cover the entire month. The contrast still helps show why a stable vacancy total does not necessarily mean employers are rapidly adding staff.

Hiring weakened most in professional and business services

The clearest industry change came from professional and business services, where hires decreased by 188,000 to 900,000 in July from 1.088 million in June. The hiring rate for the sector fell to 4.0% from 4.8%. BLS specifically identified that decline, making it more consequential than simply scanning the table for the largest numerical movement in an estimate that may carry substantial sampling error.

Job openings, by contrast, increased in durable goods manufacturing by 76,000 to 429,000. The sector’s openings rate rose to 5.2% from 4.3%. Yet its published hiring estimate moved the other way, to 177,000 from 208,000 in June. That combination illustrates the difference between a position being open and a worker actually being brought onto payroll during the month.

Across the private sector, hires were estimated at 4.758 million, down from 5.016 million in June, with the private-sector hiring rate at 3.5% compared with 3.7% a month earlier. BLS also said the hiring rate decreased at establishments with 5,000 or more employees. The data do not establish a single reason for the slower pace, but they show that the weakness was not confined to the headline total.

Quits and layoffs point to a low-churn labor market

Worker turnover remained subdued. Quits were estimated at 3.056 million in July, with a quits rate of 1.9%, compared with 3.213 million and 2.0% in June. BLS described the monthly change as little changed and singled out a 46,000 decrease in quits in other services. The July quits total was also below the 3.132 million recorded a year earlier.

BLS notes that quits can serve as a measure of workers’ willingness or ability to leave jobs voluntarily. The latest figures therefore fit a labor market in which workers are changing jobs less aggressively than in a hotter hiring environment. That does not by itself prove workers are pessimistic, since a decision to stay can reflect many factors, but the low quits rate is consistent with limited mobility.

Layoffs and discharges were also little changed at 1.666 million, or 1.0% of employment, versus 1.785 million and 1.1% in June. Finance and insurance recorded a 22,000 decrease in layoffs and discharges, the industry move highlighted by BLS. The national layoff estimate was lower than the 1.772 million recorded in July 2025, so the JOLTS report did not show a broad surge in employer-initiated job cuts.

Total separations were estimated at 5.072 million, close to the 5.054 million hires reported for the month, but those two figures should not be mechanically subtracted to reproduce the payroll change reported in the monthly jobs report. JOLTS and the Current Employment Statistics program use different survey designs and estimation procedures. The useful signal here is that both hiring and separations were running at relatively restrained rates, not that the two series can be treated as a precise monthly employment equation.

June revisions and Friday’s payrolls will shape the next read

Revisions remain an important part of the JOLTS picture. June job openings were revised down by 177,000 to 7.182 million. June hires were revised down by 16,000 to 5.332 million, while total separations were revised down by 14,000 to 5.337 million. BLS said the revisions reflect additional reports from businesses and government agencies as well as recalculated seasonal factors.

The separate July Employment Situation report had already shown a soft labor market from another angle. Nonfarm payroll employment changed little in July, declining by 23,000, while the unemployment rate was 4.1% and the number of unemployed people was 6.9 million. BLS also revised May and June payroll growth down by a combined 103,000, leaving the recent employment trend weaker than previously reported.

Taken together, the reports describe a market with millions of vacancies still available but less evidence of rapid hiring or worker movement. That is different from a labor market dominated by widespread layoffs: the layoffs rate remained low, even as hiring and quits were subdued. It also means the openings headline should be read alongside the flow data rather than as a standalone measure of labor demand.

The next major update arrives quickly. BLS is scheduled to release the August Employment Situation on Friday, September 4, followed by the August JOLTS report on September 29. The payroll report will provide a more current reading on employment and unemployment, while the next JOLTS release will show whether July’s combination of steady openings and soft hiring persisted into August.