Job openings remained essentially unchanged from July to August, nudging up to 7.23 million last month from 7.21 million the month prior.
The U.S. Census Bureau’s latest Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS), published Tuesday, reflects a stagnant market for job creation amid broader economic uncertainty. Employment growth has averaged just 29,000 jobs for June, July and August, according to the Census Bureau’s report on overall employment in August.
September employment figures are scheduled for release on Friday, though the Census Bureau has announced that the release will be delayed if a government shutdown occurs tonight.
The number and rate of job openings were unchanged at 7.2 million and 4.3%, respectively, last month. The number of job openings decreased by 115,000 in the construction section and by 61,000 in the federal government.
The number and rate of total separations — including quits, layoffs and discharges — were little changed at 5.1 million and 3.2%, respectively. The number of total separations decreased in accommodation and food services by 113,000 and in arts, entertainment and recreation by 48,000.
Last month’s JOLTS report showed the number of unemployed workers exceeded job openings for the first time since April 2021, when U.S. workers struggled to reenter a job market disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Bureau of Labor Statistics revisions for job growth in the 12 months ending March 2025 showed employers added 911,000 fewer jobs than originally reported, which played a crucial role in producing a “risk management” interest rate cut of 25 basis points at the Federal Reserve’s mid-September policy meeting.
With concerns about the health of the labor market in focus, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell reminded markets of sticky inflation concerns in a speech at an economic conference in Rhode Island following the central bank’s mid-September policy meeting.
“Tariff increases will likely take some time to work their way through supply chains,” Powell stated, while noting that “uncertainty around the path of inflation remains high.”
Inflation figures published by the Bureau of Economic Analysis last week showed the personal consumption expenditures (PCE) index, the Fed’s preferred measure of inflation, rose 2.7% annually in August. Core PCE, however, which excludes food and energy prices, rose 2.9% annually, well above the Fed’s stated target of 2%.
Strong economic indicators and rising inflation could slow the Federal Reserve’s march toward a neutral policy stance, while continued erosion of labor markets or a recessionary downturn could speed up Fed easing.
