U.S. job openings fall to lowest level since 2021, layoffs ease

U.S. job openings fell in June to the lowest level since April 2021, suggesting some softening in demand for workers in an otherwise resilient labor market.

The number of available positions eased to 9.6 million in June, the Labor Department’s Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey showed Tuesday, in line with the median estimate in a Bloomberg survey.

Hiring fell to the lowest level since February 2021. But layoffs also declined to the lowest since the end of last year, suggesting employers are reticent to let go of staff. That bolsters the message from weekly filings for jobless claims, which have moderated in recent months, and an unemployment rate that remains historically low.

“The data on layoffs show just how resilient employer demand for workers remains,” Nick Bunker, the head of economic research at Indeed Hiring Lab, said in a note. “Layoff data, a loud emergency siren during economic downturns, are instead signaling a muted ‘all’s well’ for current employees.”

Tuesday’s data precede the government’s jobs report, which is projected to show Friday that employers added some 200,000 positions in July. That would mark the lowest reading since the end of 2020.

The decline in openings was led by goods-producing sectors such as manufacturing, while several service industries, including health care and arts and entertainment, registered increases.

A separate report out Tuesday showed U.S. factory activity contracted in July for a ninth-straight month, reflecting tepid demand for American merchandise at home and abroad.