FILE - A utility crew works at a site in Chicago on June 27, 2024. On Tuesday, July 30, 2024, the Labor Department reports on job openings and labor turnover for June. WASHINGTON — U.S. job openings fell slightly last month, a sign that the American labor market continues to cool in the face ofStill, the report showed other signs of a slowing job market. Employers hired 5.3 million people, fewest since April 2020 when the pandemic was hammering the economy.
Vacancies rose at hotels and restaurants and at state and local governments . Openings fell at factories that make long-lasting manufactured goods and at the federal government.despite the Federal Reserve’s aggressive campaign to tame inflation by raising its benchmark interest rate to a 23-year high. But higher borrowing costs have taken a toll: Job openings peaked in 12.2 million and have come down more or less steadily ever since.