Job vacancies topped 2 million in July as companies struggled to fill a record number of vacancies, the Labor Department said Wednesday.
The department’s Job Openings and Workload Survey, which the Federal Reserve is closely watching for signs of a slowdown in employment, showed 10.9 million open jobs. This was well above the FactSet estimate of 9.9 million and the June total of 10.18 million.
That number flooded the level of 8.7 million people out of work and looking for work in July. JOLTS data is one month behind non-agricultural regular payroll data, which grew by 1.05 million in July.
Recruitment slowed sharply in August, with payrolls growing by just 235,000, even as the total number of unemployed fell to 8.4 million.
The measured employment rate compared to the total labor force increased to 6.9% in July, compared to 6.5% in the previous month and 4.6% in the previous year.
From the point of view of industry, the rate jumped to 10.7%, from 10.2% in the critical field of leisure and hospitality, which suffered most during the Covid-19 pandemic. Openings rose to 1.82 million, with a total gain of 134,000 compared to June.
Financial activities also experienced a large increase in openings, with a rate rising from 5.8% to 3.8%, representing more than 200,000 new positions available. Government openings also increased substantially, from 4.2% to 4.6%, or a gain of about 100,000.
At the regional level, the northeast rate increased from 7.2% to 7%. Despite being more affected by the new Covid cases, the South continued to have the highest level of job offers, with 7.1%, an increase of 226,000 compared to June.
The hiring rate really fell during the month, from 4.7% to 4.5%, while the dropout rate, seen as a barometer of workers’ confidence, remained unchanged at 2.7. %. Layoffs and layoffs rose to 1%.