The dog days of summer hit the job market hard in July.<\/p>\n
While job openings, signaling employers\u2019 intent to hire, picked up in July, actual hires fell last month, according to the latest Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey<\/a> (JOLTS) from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, as employers have pulled back on hiring amid economic uncertainty. At the same time, both quits and layoffs and discharges declined in July. For workers, the labor market\u2019s current \u201clow-hire, low-fire\u201d conditions signal that it might be better to stay put.<\/p>\n \u201cThese measures [hirings and quits] indicate movement, and often the movement that spells higher wages and better professional satisfaction. Both have been lackluster for some time, however, as employers aren\u2019t bringing on many new workers, so workers have few options for upgrading their career,\u201d Elizabeth Renter, senior director of economic insights at Life360, wrote on LinkedIn.<\/a><\/p>\n Diving into the data. Employers reported 7.3 million job openings at the end of July, a slight increase from June, the number for which was downwardly revised by 177,000 to 7.2 million.<\/p>\n Durable goods manufacturing reported the strongest increase in postings, up by 76,000 between June and July, followed by state and local government (up 65,000), and healthcare and social assistance (up 54,000). Meanwhile, transportation, warehousing, and utilities reported the steepest decline in job postings, down 67,000, followed by professional and business services (down 65,000) and leisure and hospitality (down 42,000).<\/p>\n Hires, meanwhile, fell to 5.1 million in July, down from 5.3 million in June. The hires rate declined to 3.2%, its lowest since February 2026 and April 2020 (the latter marking the end of the Covid-19 recession) when the hires rate was 3.1%. A hiring rate this low is atypical, economists said, because it\u2019s usually associated with an unemployment rate as high as 9%. The unemployment rate for July was 4.1%, according to last month\u2019s jobs report<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cThis goes to show how unusual the sluggish hiring environment we\u2019re in is, especially for a job market that is relatively stable (or stale, depending on your point of view),\u201d Daniel Zhao, Glassdoor\u2019s chief economist, wrote on LinkedIn<\/a>.<\/p>\n Quick-to-read HR news & insights<\/p>\n From recruiting and retention to company culture and the latest in HR tech, HR Brew delivers up-to-date industry news and tips to help HR pros stay nimble in today\u2019s fast-changing business environment.<\/p>\n Professional and business services reported the steepest decline in hires between June and July, down by 188,000, followed by finance and insurance (declining 37,000) and transportation, warehousing, and utilities (down 32,000).<\/p>\n At the same time, total separations (including quits and layoffs and discharges) fell from 5.3 million in June to 5.1 million in July. Within that, quits declined from 3.2 million to 3.1 million in that same time period, while layoffs and discharges fell from 1.8 million to 1.7 million. For individuals who are currently employed, there\u2019s incentive to stay put.<\/p>\n