In July, job vacancies in the U.S. remained steady at 7.3 million, while recruitment demands from businesses still showed signs of weakness. June data was revised down by 177,000.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released its Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) on Tuesday, indicating that the number of job vacancies in the U.S. remained essentially stable in July, with no significant changes in hiring, quitting, or layoffs. This suggests that the overall U.S. labor market remains relatively stable, although demand for hiring by businesses is still weak. The data shows that there were 7.3 million job vacancies in July, with a vacancy rate of 4.4%. At the same time, hiring totaled 5.1 million, resulting in a hiring rate of 3.2%; total separations also stood at 5.1 million, reflecting a separations rate of 3.2%. Notably, the BLS also significantly revised downward the June job openings data, reducing it by 177,000 from the previously published level to 7.2 million, indicating that the actual labor demand from U.S. firms was weaker than initially estimated. Specifically, the number of job vacancies in July remained steady at 7.3 million, maintaining a vacancy rate of 4.4%. By industry, the durable goods manufacturing sector saw an increase of 76,000 job vacancies, marking a notable growth area for the month. Job vacancies are typically seen as an important measure of business labor demand. Although the overall number of job vacancies in July did not show a significant decline, compared to the extremely tight labor market period following the COVID-19 pandemic, the demand for additional employees from U.S. businesses has clearly cooled down. At the same time, the June job vacancies data was revised down by 177,000 to 7.2 million, further demonstrating that the demand for labor was not as strong as previously reported. Actual hiring activities also did not show significant improvement. In July, hiring in the U.S. totaled 5.1 million with a hiring rate of 3.2%, showing little change from the previous month. Among these, the professional and business services sector experienced a decrease of 188,000 in hiring, making it one of the sectors with the most noticeable decline in hiring activity for the month. Hiring activity among large firms has also cooled down. Data shows that the hiring rate for firms with 5,000 or more employees declined in July, while the job vacancy rate, voluntary quit rate, layoff rate, and overall separation rate for these large companies remained virtually unchanged. In contrast, small firms with 1 to 9 employees saw a slight decrease in layoffs and firings, while their vacancy, hiring, voluntary quit, and overall separation rates remained relatively stable. In July, the number of voluntary quits in the U.S. was 3.1 million, with a voluntary quit rate holding steady at 1.9%, showing little change from the previous month. Among these, the number of voluntary quits in other services decreased by 46,000. The voluntary quit rate is one of the important indicators of confidence in the U.S. labor market. Typically, when job opportunities are plentiful and businesses compete for labor, employees feel more confident to voluntarily leave their jobs in search of higher pay or better conditions; conversely, when the labor market cools, employees are more likely to stay in their current positions. Thus, the relatively stable number and rate of voluntary quits also indicate that the current U.S. labor market has not seen a noticeable acceleration in labor flow. Meanwhile, there has not been a significant increase in layoffs among U.S. businesses. In July, the number of layoffs and firings stood at 1.7 million, with a layoff and firing rate holding steady at 1.0%. Notably, layoffs and firings in the finance and insurance sector decreased by 22,000. Additionally, other separations, including retirements, deaths, disability, and employees transferring to other areas within the same company, remained largely unchanged at 350,000. Overall, the July JOLTS data reveals a clear characteristic of "low mobility," with businesses not significantly increasing hiring while also avoiding large-scale layoffs; employees' willingness to voluntarily change jobs has similarly not shown a significant rebound. June job vacancies revised down by 177,000, with hiring and separation data also adjusted downward. The downward revision of June data in this report is also noteworthy. The BLS revised the number of job vacancies for June down by 177,000 to 7.2 million; hiring estimates were adjusted down by 16,000 to 5.3 million; total separations were revised down by 14,000 to 5.3 million. Of these, June voluntary quits were revised down by 19,000 to 3.2 million, while layoffs and firings were revised up by 19,000 to 1.8 million. The BLS stated that these monthly adjustments mainly result from new survey reports submitted by businesses and government entities, as well as recalibrations of seasonal adjustment factors. Overall, the July JOLTS report shows that there have not been significant signs of deterioration in the U.S. labor market, with layoff levels remaining stable, but business hiring activity lacks evident expansion momentum. Job vacancies remained at 7.3 million, hiring maintained at 5.1 million, while the voluntary quit rate was merely 1.9%, reflecting that the labor market as a whole is relatively stable but with lower mobility. Meanwhile, the revision of June job vacancies downward to 7.2 million further reinforces the signal that labor demand from U.S. businesses has significantly cooled from its previous peak. As the market closely monitors the Federal Reserve's next policy direction, whether labor demand can remain stable and whether future employment growth will further slow down will be important considerations for investors assessing the outlook for the U.S. economy and interest rates.