Job openings edged higher in July but remained near recent levels as U.S. businesses continued to grapple with elevated inflation and pronounced macroeconomic uncertainty fueled by wars in Iran and Ukraine and surging global bond yields.

Including a sharp downward revision to 7.18 million openings from initial estimates of around 7.4 million in June, job openings rose just 1.2% to about 7.27 million on a seasonally adjusted basis in July, according to Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) findings published Tuesday by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).

Economists polled by Reuters and Dow Jones had forecast job openings of around 7.3 million, putting Tuesday’s JOLTS data roughly in line with expectations. However, economists who didn’t anticipate the June revision had expected the 7.3 million figure to reflect a decline — rather than an increase — in openings.

That 89,000 increase pushed overall openings 2.5% higher than last July, when domestic and global employers were reeling from the aftermath of so-called “Liberation Day” tariffs administered by President Donald Trump on scores of U.S. trade allies and adversaries.

The Supreme Court ultimately struck down the majority of those tariffs in February, though the president has subsequently readministered them through other authorities.

Hiring and separations fell in July by approximately 5% each on a seasonally adjusted basis. A slightly higher volume of quits — as opposed to layoffs and discharges — drove the decline in overall separations.

The report affirms what financial markets broadly view as stable U.S. labor market conditions that have given the Federal Reserve breathing room to address the other side of its dual mandate to maintain full employment and price stability.

Inflation has not only exceeded the Fed’s stated 2% target for longer than five years, but has accelerated in 2026 amid supply-chain fallout from the Iran war and spending related to the build-out of artificial intelligence.

“Labor markets are quite stable,” said Fed Chair Kevin Warsh during his keynote address last Friday in Jackson Hole, Wyo., at which he also signaled a greater appetite for raising interest rates to combat stubbornly high inflation.

Though job growth unexpectedly turned negative in July, the unemployment rate declined to 4.1% — its lowest level so far this year — and trending four-week unemployment claims have hovered near their lowest level in decades, the Fed chair also pointed out.

“They may well be concerned about possible future labor disruptions, but as of now, I believe the labor markets are consistent with full employment,” stated Warsh, adding that “people who want to work, by and large, are holding or finding jobs.”

The BLS is scheduled to publish its closely watched jobs summary for August on Friday, with a positive reading likely to lend greater support to a Fed rate hike occurring at the next Fed meeting in mid-September.