Aug. 30 (UPI) — Hiring declined in July and fewer people quit their jobs, according to a report Tuesday from the Labor Department. Job openings changed little from the month before.
According to the monthly Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey, the number of openings held steady at 11.2 million on the last day of July, compared to 11 million at the end of June.
Quits, which had hovered at all-time highs most of the year, fell slightly to 4.2 million. The quits figure can serve as a measure of workers’ willingness or ability to leave jobs.
The transportation, warehousing and utility sector saw the most hires with 81,000, the report said. Arts, entertainment and recreation made 53,000 hires. The federal government provided 47,000 jobs, while and state and local government education contributed 42,000 more.
The durable goods manufacturing sector saw the biggest loss, 47,000 jobs.
The July numbers, which are closely watched by the Federal Reserve as an inflation indicator, continued to show a tight job market with openings outnumbering available workers by nearly 2-to-1.
The competition for workers means employers will be forced to offer higher compensation to attract workers at a time when prices are increasing at their fastest rate in four decades.
