WASHINGTON, Aug 29 - U.S. job openings dropped to the lowest level in nearly 2-1/2 years in July as the labor market gradually slowed, bolstering expectations that the Federal Reserve will keep interest rates unchanged next month.
Job openings, a measure of labor demand, were down 338,000 to 8.827 million on the last day of July, the lowest level since March 2021. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast 9.465 million job openings. Declining job openings are likely to be mirrored by slower job growth in August. Economists expect the increase in nonfarm payrolls moderated further in August after posting in July the second-smallest gain since December 2020.
WORKERS LESS CONFIDENT The labor market has largely been resilient despite 525 basis points in interest rate hikes from the Fed since March 2022, in part as employers filled positions that opened up during the COVID-19 pandemic. Waning labor market optimism combined with a surge in gasoline prices to weigh on consumer confidence this month, erasing the back-to-back increases in June and July.
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