Job openings hit 7.18 million in July, according to the latest JOLTS report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That figure was below the 7.38 million expected by economists tracked by Bloomberg as well as the 7.36 million jobs open in June.
Meanwhile, hires — the number of people added to a company’s payroll in a given month — totaled 5.3 million, unchanged from the prior month.
The quits level, which tracks voluntary separations initiated by an employee, hit 3.21 million, above the 3.17 million but roughly in line with the previous month. Quits — a measure of workers’ flexibility to leave jobs — increased in business services but decreased in construction, transportation, warehousing, and utilities.
Layoffs totaled 1.81 million versus the 1.64 million expected, roughly unchanged from June.
The latest data added to investor confidence in a rate cut from the central bank in September. Traders were pricing in a 93.7% odds of a rate cut this month following the JOLTS report, ahead of the 91.7% earlier in the morning
