U.S. job openings rose slightly in July to 7.27 million, up from a revised 7.18 million in June, according to the Labor Department's Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey. The report also indicated a decrease in layoffs, though the number of workers voluntarily quitting their jobs also fell, suggesting a cautious labor market.
Gross hiring, which measures the total number of hires before accounting for job losses or quits, dipped to 5.1 million in July from 5.3 million in June. The overall job market is described as ambling rather than booming, navigating higher costs that are impacting household budgets, partly due to an energy shock linked to the conflict with Iran.
Year-to-date, U.S. employers have added an average of 61,000 net jobs per month. This figure, influenced by job losses in February and July, is an improvement over 2025, when job growth averaged less than 10,000 per month, marking the weakest hiring outside of a recession since 2002. High interest rates and uncertainty from tariffs had previously discouraged hiring.
Despite slower hiring, layoffs have also remained low. The unemployment rate currently stands at 4.1%, with weekly jobless claims consistently low. Economists characterize the labor market as being in a "low fire, low hire" mode, with companies exercising caution due to the ongoing conflict in Iran and increased borrowing costs.
Forecasters surveyed by FactSet anticipate that the August hiring and unemployment data, due to be released on Friday, will show employers added approximately 65,000 jobs, with the unemployment rate potentially ticking up to 4.2%.