US job openings rise in July, Labor Department reveals

The number of job openings in the US rose by more than expected in July, according to the Labor Department on Wednesday.

Monthly job openings increased by 228,000 to 5.9m in July, compared to 5.62 million job openings in June and expectations for a broadly unchanged figure. The job openings rate was 3.9% in July. The Labor Department said the growth was driven by the private sector.

Separations, which includes people quitting and getting laid off, were little changed from June at a rate of 3.4% or 4.9 million. The number of hires was also broadly unchanged at a rate of 3.6% or 5.2 million.

The Job Openings and Labor Turnover report is closely followed by the Federal Reserve for gauging the health of the labour market and economic conditions.

Ian Shepherdson, chief economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics, said: “This is a pleasant surprise after the run of disappointing recent data, though no single survey measure of the state of gross hiring is definitive.

“Bear in mind too that these numbers are for July, so they are less up-to-date than the soft August ISM employment numbers, the Help Wanted Online and NFIB hiring intentions.”