US job openings fell in July to lowest level in nearly a year

US job openings fell in July to the lowest in 10 months, adding to other data that show a gradually diminishing appetite for workers amid heightened policy uncertainty.

Available positions decreased to 7.18 million from a downwardly revised 7.36 million reading in June, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data published Wednesday. The median estimate in a Bloomberg survey of economists called for 7.38 million openings.

The pullback in openings was driven by health care, retail trade and leisure and hospitality. Vacancies in health care, which has been a major driver of job growth this year, dropped to the lowest level since 2021. Treasury yields fell and the S&P 500 remained higher after the report.

The slide in vacancies indicates companies are becoming more cautious and selective with their hiring as they attempt to gauge the impact of President Donald Trump’s trade policy on the economy. In addition to the openings data, the pace of hiring has slowed and it is taking longer for unemployed people to find another position.

Federal Reserve policymakers are closely monitoring labor market data for any concerning signs of weakness. Fed Chair Jerome Powell said in a speech last month that “downside risks to employment are rising.” Investors anticipate that officials will lower interest rates by a quarter percentage point at their policy meeting later this month.

The number of layoffs edged up to the highest since September and reflected more dismissals in construction. And hiring also picked up slightly, according to the JOLTS report.

The number of vacancies per unemployed worker, a ratio Fed officials watch closely as a proxy of the balance between labor demand and supply, held at 1, hovering at the lowest level since 2021. At its peak in 2022, the ratio was 2 to 1.

The so-called quits rate, which measures the percentage of people voluntarily leaving their jobs each month, was unchanged at 2%.

Some economists have questioned the validity of the JOLTS data, in part due to the survey’s low response rate and sometimes sizable revisions. A separate index by job-posting site Indeed, which is reported on a daily basis, showed openings declined in early July before picking back up later in the month.

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—With assistance from Mark Niquette.