US Job Openings Edge Up to 7.27 Million in July, Missing Estimates as Hiring Slips

The US Bureau of Labor Statistics reported 7.271 million job openings in July, a slight miss against the consensus estimate of 7.300 million to 7.313 million but an improvement from a sharply downward-revised 7.182 million in June. The openings rate ticked up to 4.4% from 4.3%, offering a modest signal of stable labor demand even as the headline number fell short of expectations.

Under the surface, the report painted a more cautious picture of labor market activity. Hiring fell to 5.054 million from a revised 5.332 million in June, while quits dropped to 3.056 million from 3.213 million, pushing the quits rate down to 1.9% from 2.0%, a measure watched closely as a gauge of worker confidence in finding new jobs. Layoffs and discharges also declined to 1.666 million from a revised 1.785 million, producing what analysts described as a low-hire, low-fire dynamic consistent with a labor market that is cooling but not deteriorating sharply.

Separately, a University of Massachusetts Amherst poll conducted August 21 to 26 found President Trump's approval rating at a new low of 32%, down one point from March, with 64% disapproving and 54% strongly disapproving. Majorities gave Trump poor marks on his handling of both the war with Iran, where 68% said he is not handling it well, and inflation, where more than half said he is handling it not well at all against 22% who rated his performance positively. The poll surveyed 1,000 respondents and carries a margin of error of 3.5 percentage points.